It can be hard to keep up with Don Davis as he power walks and even runs through the streets of Wilson, N.C.

Davis, a minister and Democrat running for North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, is canvassing with potential voters.

With a limited social media presence, the six-term state senator embraces old-fashioned retail campaigning.

“When people in rural communities actually see their elected, they are so appreciative,” Davis said. “That’s been my experience.”

His Republican opponent, Sandy Smith, does put a big focus online. She has tens of thousands of followers on social media, and she regularly posts, including recent clips from her appearance at a rally by former President Donald Trump when he endorsed her.

The candidates are running to represent the newly redrawn 1st District, which stretches through a primarily rural part of the eastern side of the state, but includes Greenville and Rocky Mount.

The district’s been represented by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat, since 2004. He will retire at the end of this term. 

During the Democratic primary, Butterfield endorsed Davis, a veteran from Greene County.

"There’s so many concerns about health, access to health care,” Davis told Spectrum News 1. "Residents who own a family want to make sure we expand Medicaid … I’m fully prepared to advocate for a federal alternative if we just can’t get it done."

He’s been considered a moderate Democrat in the state legislature.

Spectrum News 1 spoke one-on-one with Don Davis in Wilson County, N.C. in early October. This interview has been edited for clarity.

His Democratic opponent during the primary called him anti-abortion because of some of his previous votes. 

Davis tells Spectrum News 1 he supports codifying Roe v. Wade.

Smith said she doesn’t support access to an abortion except in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. However, she is quoted on a website affiliated with American Family Association Action that “life begins at conception and we now have the science to prove this. I am not for any exceptions to murder a baby in the womb.” 

When asked for clarification, Smith said "abortion should never be used as a form of birth control or gender selection, period. If a bill comes across my desk and it is to restrict abortion and includes exceptions, I would support it."

Although Davis has been labeled a moderate Democrat, he has the support of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, someone Smith often tries to tie him with. 

"It’s clear that I have a strong record and background, a proven record, of working across the aisle,” Davis said.

Smith and her husband own a small construction firm, and she was the Republican nominee in 2020 before losing to Butterfield.

She’s running on many of the issues being discussed by Republicans around the country, including the border, the fentanyl crisis and the economy.

“Out of control inflation. When you can't go to the grocery store, you can’t find food, but more importantly when they can find it, it’s skyrocketed,” Smith told Spectrum News. “To combat inflation we need to open our XL Pipeline and get American energy flowing."

Spectrum News 1 spoke one-on-one with Sandy Smith in Nash County, N.C. in early October. This interview has been edited for clarity.

Smith believes the district is getting neglected in Washington and Republicans have a chance of pulling off an upset. The University of Virginia Center for Politics labels the district as “lean Democratic.” But it comes with a number of challenges, specifically in regards to Smith.

Smith attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally in Washington, D.C. She said she left before rioters stormed the Capitol.

And she labeled her 2020 election loss to Butterfield a “total sham,” a claim called misinformation by the N.C. State Board of Elections. 

Initially, in 2020, Smith said the machines in the district were run by Dominion Voting Systems. But the elections board said the only voting systems manufacturers doing business in North Carolina were ES&S and Hart InterCivic.

Smith said in an interview with Spectrum News 1 that ES&S is “worse.” 

The elections board sent Spectrum News 1 a statement that said: “No election system or voting system in the state has ever been the target of a successful cyberattack. Every machine in every county is tested before every election, and post-election audits, year after year, election after election, show that results counted by machine are accurate."

When asked if she will accept the results of the election in November, Smith said “if they are fair, absolutely."

She’s also been called out for her past, including in television ads from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and by one of her opponents in the Republican primary. They accuse her of domestic abuse in previous relationships. Similar attacks were directed at her by an opponent in the Republican primary.

"I have more people coming up to me, relating to me, because maybe you don’t realize it, I’m a domestic violence survivor … a lot of folks don’t realize that I’ve been fighting groomers longer than you even knew what the word meant,” Smith said.

One thing these candidates do agree on is eastern North Carolina has not seen some of the growth other parts of the state have.

But their roads to get to Congress to fix that show two starkly different candidates.