U.S. House Control

Laurie Buckhout, a retired Army colonel, has won the Republican primary in North Carolina’s redrawn 1st Congressional District, setting up a 2026 rematch with Democratic Rep. Don Davis in one of the most vulnerable Democratic-held House seats. The district has been pushed further to the right after successive gerrymanders by the GOP‑controlled legislature, following a 2023 map change and another redraw last year that both favored Republicans. Davis narrowly defeated Buckhout by less than two percentage points in 2024 under the earlier map, and national parties are expected to pour money into the contest given its potential to help decide control of the House. An early February Emerson College poll showed Buckhout with a small lead over her closest primary rival, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, in a five‑candidate field, though within the margin of error, and former President Trump pointedly stayed neutral. The race now becomes a test of how far the new lines have shifted the electorate and whether Democrats can hold on in a district that was until recently much safer for them.