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Newcomer Buckhout defeats Smith in northeastern NC congressional GOP primary

Political newcomer Laurie Buckhout will take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis in North Carolina's tightest congressional race.

Posted 2024-03-04T22:51:09+00:00 - Updated 2024-03-06T22:56:22+00:00

Newcomer, military vet will challenge Davis in NC 1st

Paul Specht, WRAL state government reporter,

and

Brian Murphy, WRAL

Laurie Buckhout, a 26-year military veteran backed by the national party, beat two-time district nominee Sandy Smith in the Republican primary in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.

Buckhout will take on incumbent Democrat Don Davis in the state’s lone toss-up U.S. House race. She defeated Smith with 54% of the vote with nearly 91% of precincts in the district reporting Tuesday night.

The district will likely determine whether Republicans make up 10 or 11 members of the North Carolina congressional delegation. The state’s delegation is currently split 7-7 between Republicans and Democrats.

Davis won his first term in 2022, defeating Smith by four percentage points. Smith lost to long-time U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield in 2020. Democrats have held the seat since 1899.

Amid concerns about Smith’s electability, the Congressional Leadership Fund — a super PAC tied to top House Republicans — spent at least $178,000 to help Buckhout get out her message in the primary. Buckout, who started a defense consulting firm before selling it, also loaned her campaign $1 million, according to FEC filings.

"I am honored you have selected me as your Republican nominee," Buckhout said in a statement. "I would also like to commend Sandy Smith for a hard-fought campaign. I never thought this would be easy and she made me earn this victory tonight. She’s forced me to be a better candidate and I thank her. Now, we all have to work together and move forward because we have to stop the disastrous Joe Biden/Don Davis agenda!”

The district includes parts or all of 22 counties in the northeastern part of the state: Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Edgecombe, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Wilson.

Black and Hispanic voters are challenging the new congressional map in court, alleging that Davis’s district is one of several that are unconstitutionally gerrymandered to dilute the influence of minority voters. The legal challenges aren’t expected to influence the district boundaries for this year’s elections.