NC Republicans draw Don Davis out of his district in attempt to take 11th seat

Danielle Battglia, McClatchy Washington Bureau on Oct 16, 2025

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WASHINGTON — As part of an attempt by Republicans to keep the House majority in 2026, North Carolina state lawmakers redrew the state’s congressional map and proposed removing one of its four congressional Democrats from the district he represents.

If it becomes law, the map could give Republicans one extra vote in Congress from North Carolina.

Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill, represents North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which currently includes the state’s 20 northeasternmost counties.

But state Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall announced this week plans to redraw the boundaries of North Carolina’s 14 congressional districts, joining other GOP-controlled states acting at the behest of President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, they released that map.

The redrawn 1st Congressional District would include Beaufort, Craven, Carteret, Pamlico, Hyde and Dare counties, which had previously been in the 3rd Congressional District, represented by Greg Murphy, a Republican from Pitt County. Four other counties — Wilson, Wayne, Greene and Lenoir — would go from Davis’ district to Murphy’s.

Davis lives in Greene County, now located in Murphy’s district.

Members of Congress aren’t required to live in their district — only in their state. If the map becomes law, Davis could run in either the new 1st or 3rd, or decline to run.

Davis’ campaign team could not immediately be reached for comment, but the congressman wrote a statement on social media Thursday evening after the maps were released.

“Families across (Eastern North Carolina) are struggling and feel that Washington, D.C., is broken,” Davis wrote on social media Thursday night. “I understand these concerns all too well. As we look at new congressional districts, I am considering every option, drawing on my local roots, experience in the military, and commitment to education.”

Davis had faced three Republicans vying to unseat him: state Sen. Bobby Hanig, of Currituck County; Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson; and Lenoir County Board of Commissioners Vice Chairman Eric Rouse.

Under the new map, Roberson and Hanig would remain in the 1st district, but Rouse would live in the 3rd district with Davis and Murphy.

Rouse’s campaign manager, Jonathan Felts, said Rouse plans to continue running in the 1st district.

This is the fifth time in six years that North Carolina Republicans have redrawn the congressional districts, a process that is supposed to happen once a decade after the census.

At the end of 2024, North Carolina was represented by seven Republicans and seven Democrats, a makeup that largely matched the ideologies of the purple state. But beginning in 2025, after the map was redrawn for the 2024 election, North Carolina is now represented by 10 Republicans and 4 Democrats.

Republicans want to make it 11 Republicans and 3 Democrats.

That’s because Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, 219-213, with three vacancies caused by two deaths and a resignation.

The 1st district has been represented by a Democrat since 1888. But under the current map, it’s North Carolina’s only true swing district, where voters have had a chance to select either party to represent them in Congress.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, led by Rep. Richard Hudson of Southern Pines, named Davis’ district as one of their targets to flip red. When Hall and Berger announced their plans, all eyes went to Davis’ counties.

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