Overview
- House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned in Greenville with Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout on Tuesday and announced a plan to raise about $400 million to back roughly 20 targeted House races.
- State lawmakers recently redrew the 1st District in a plan led by the GOP-controlled General Assembly that added Republican-leaning counties and is widely seen as improving Buckhout’s chances this fall.
- Republican messaging and RNC statements accuse incumbent Rep. Don Davis of using taxpayer funds for office furniture and travel, missing votes, and other lapses as part of an argument that he is vulnerable.
- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has listed Davis’s reelection as a top defensive priority and says it will direct resources to protect the seat.
- The seat was long held by Democrats and Davis beat Buckhout by about two percentage points in 2024, so the remapped district and the nationalized campaign effort make NC-01 a bellwether that could shape which party controls the U.S. House and influence local policy on jobs and farming.