Who won the GOP primary in Eastern NC’s 1st District? Unofficial results here.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Five Republicans vie to challenge incumbent Don Davis in NC’s 1st District.
- Laurie Buckhout leads in outside spending and campaign funds in the primary.
- Results are unofficial. If no one gets 30%, the runner-up can request a runoff.
Former Army Col. Laurie Buckhout has come out victorious in her bid to become the GOP nominee to represent North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, according to unofficial results on Tuesday night.
Five Republicans were competing for the chance to challenge the Democratic incumbent in November in the Eastern North Carolina congressional seat that was redrawn by the GOP in hopes of flipping it.
Buckhout will face incumbent Rep. Don Davis, a Snow Hill Democrat, and Libertarian candidate Tom Bailey, a Vietnam War veteran, in November.
“I’m grateful to the voters across Eastern North Carolina who rallied behind our campaign tonight. Republicans are united and ready to send a fighter to Washington,” Buckhout said on X.
“Don Davis has spent his time in Congress doing little for this district while voting for the largest tax hike in American history and siding with Washington insiders instead of Eastern North Carolina’s farmers, workers and small businesses. I spent my career as a U.S. Army Colonel leading troops in combat and defending this country. Now I’m ready to take that same mission-first leadership to Washington — to stand up to weak politicians like Don Davis and fight for safer communities, a stronger economy and the people of Eastern North Carolina,” she said on X.
The candidates were Buckhout; Bobby Hanig, a state lawmaker; Eric Rouse, a business owner and Lenoir County commissioner; Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck; and Ashley-Nicole Russell, a divorce attorney.
Results continuously showed Buckhout in the lead — though at times trailed closely by Buck.
The Associated Press called the race for Buckhout a bit after 10:30 p.m.
Many North Carolinians have already cast ballots through mail and early voting, and on Tuesday, Election Day, voters took to the polls in person.
Results are unofficial until certified.
Davis is running for reelection unopposed in his party’s primary. But he faces a tougher path this cycle as the district has changed significantly.
In 2023, Republicans redrew congressional maps after courts ruled partisan gerrymandering was allowed. The changes made the 1st District — which stretches across much of northeastern North Carolina and the Inner Banks — the state’s only true swing seat in 2024, shifting the delegation from an even 7-7 split to a 10-4 Republican advantage.
Republicans redrew the maps again in October after President Donald Trump urged GOP-controlled legislatures to revisit congressional lines — a move some Democratic-led states, including California, mirrored. The revised map expanded the 1st District by adding more conservative territory from the neighboring 3rd District, represented by Rep. Greg Murphy.
Praise for Buckhout
Several Republican leaders and organizations quickly started congratulating Buckhout, with some attacking Davis.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said on X that he looked “forward to working together to defend and grow the majority in November.”
Republican National Committee spokesperson Emma Hall said in an email that “Davis betrayed North Carolina, voting in lockstep with Joe Biden’s agenda that delivered sky-high costs, rising crime and an open border, while standing in the way of the America First priorities North Carolinians voted for. Don Davis is a spineless career politician who puts the radical left ahead of his district, and Laurie Buckhout will send him into permanent retirement this November.”
National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman Reilly Richardson said Buckhout “has what it takes to defeat do-nothing Don Davis this fall. In Congress, Laurie will be a strong advocate for Eastern North Carolina and help President Trump improve national security, grow the economy and ensure the success of America’s farmers.”
...and for Davis
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman Suzan DelBene said in an email statement that “Buckhout has no real interest in serving the people of Eastern North Carolina. Her priority is acting as another rubber-stamp for the same Washington politicians who are making everyday life more expensive for North Carolinians.”
“While Don Davis was busy fighting for affordable health care, lowering costs, and bringing money back home, Laurie was rubbing shoulders with Washington elites and doing everything she could to stay out of North Carolina. This November, voters are going to send Don Davis — a trusted fighter — back to Congress,” she said.
Candidates
While the field was crowded, several candidates were well-known in their localities and had held or sought office before. All embraced Trump’s agenda and aligned themselves with current Republican priorities.
Still, none received an endorsement from Trump that cycle, though Buckhout received significantly more financial backing from outside groups and had previously worked for Trump. Polling was limited in the district.
Buckhout, 64, of Edenton, ran in the district in 2024, winning the Republican primary before losing to Davis by less than 2 percentage points in one of the most expensive House races in the country. She got Trump’s endorsement in 2024.
She later joined the Trump administration, serving as acting assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy and later as White House assistant national cyber director for policy. After her military career, Buckhout founded Corvus Consulting, a firm focused on electronic warfare and cyberspace operations.
Federal filings show Buckhout had more than $2.02 million on hand at the end of last year, including a $2 million loan she made to her campaign. Another $9,000 came from individual donors. Her latest report, which has data from January and February, shows she raised more than $129,000 and had more than $1.5 million on hand.
Artificial intelligence industry-backed groups have waded into several primary elections across the nation, including the 1st Congressional District race. Buckhout has received support from an AI-affiliated group called American Mission, funded largely by Leading the Future, a super PAC backed by donors in the AI industry, including OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna Brockman, and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Benjamin Horowitz.
American Mission provided, on Feb. 11, over $500,000 to Summit Ridge Media Group LLC for media production and media placements in favor of Buckhout. Outside spending favoring Buckhout totals over $900,000. Spending against her totals almost $38,000.
Among the other candidates in the race, none have any independent expenditures — spending by outside groups acting independently of a campaign — reported for or against them in Federal Election data posted to date that the N&O could find.
Buck, the Carteret County sheriff, ranks second in recent fundraising. He previously reported more than $233,000 in cash on hand, including more than $189,000 from individual donors. His latest filing shows more than $66,000 in contributions. He ended the period with more than $115,000 in cash on hand.
Buck, who is from Beaufort, ran for sheriff at 29, defeating six primary challengers before beating a 30-year veteran chief deputy in the general election, becoming the youngest sheriff in North Carolina, according to his website. He also implemented a drug-collection program, Pills Can Kill, now a model used throughout the state, according to his website. He later served as president of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.
Hanig, 62, of Powells Point, is a state senator representing District 1, which includes several eastern North Carolina counties, including Bertie and Camden. Political observers say he has strong name recognition in the counties he represents. His profile rose last year when he opposed a GOP-backed bill that would have banned shrimp trawling in North Carolina’s sounds. The bill did not pass.
He previously also served in the state House and as chairman of the Currituck County Board of Commissioners. A U.S. Army veteran and small-business owner focused on pool care, he reported more than $234,000 on hand at year’s end, including about $187,000 from individual donors. He raised more than $37,000 in the latest period and had more than $140,000 on hand.
Rouse, 53, of Kinston, has spent 16 years as a county commissioner. He is also an entrepreneur with six primary businesses ranging from modular construction to concrete and directional drilling,
In 2019, he ran as one of 17 candidates seeking the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District special election, finishing unsuccessfully. He finished last year with more than $418,000 in cash on hand, including just over $34,000 from individual donors. He raised more than $16,000 in the latest period and had more than $42,000 on hand.
In a questionnaire sent by The N&O to candidates in the 1st district race, Rouse highlighted that throughout his civic involvement he has never voted for a tax or tax increase.
Russell, 39, of Atlantic Beach, is a family law attorney and founder of AN|R Law, a firm with offices in Greenville, Raleigh, Beaufort and Wilmington. She has been named Greenville-Pitt County Small Business Leader of the Year by the local chamber of commerce and serves on the national board of the National Parents Organization.
She entered 2026 with just under $195,000 in campaign cash, including $49,340 from individual donors. Her latest report shows over $10,000 in contributions and over $91,000 in cash on hand.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Who won the GOP primary in Eastern NC’s 1st District? Unofficial results here.."
