Rep. Don Davis replaced retired Democrat Rep. G.K. Butterfield this year and represents the state’s first district in the eastern part of the state.

Populating the walls of Davis’s Capitol Hill office are pictures of his time crisscrossing eastern North Carolina.

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Don Davis replaced retired Democrat Rep. G.K. Butterfield this year

  • Davis has bucked his party on a number of big votes in his first year in Congress

  • Davis had a reputation as a moderate Democrat in the General Assembly

“So often people in the east feel left out, they feel left out in Raleigh, they feel left out in D.C.,” Davis said.

But it’s his time in D.C. that has raised questions among some in his own party.

Davis has bucked his party on a number of big votes. He was one of just four Democrats to vote for a Republican defense bill that includes the elimination of diversity programs in the military and bans the defense department from reimbursing service members who have to travel out of state for an abortion.

Davis called the legislation, which is before the Senate, a work in progress.

More recently, he voted for a controversial bill that would fund new military aid for Israel, but it would cut billions of dollars in spending at the Internal Revenue Service.

The votes shouldn’t come as a surprise. Davis was known as one of the most moderate Democrats in the North Carolina General Assembly.

“There will always be a little bit of pushback. But again, my task here is to explain even to our leadership that I’m fighting for the people of eastern North Carolina,” Davis said.

The votes could help him in his district next year.

The composition of North Carolina’s congressional delegation could change dramatically after next year’s election.

If they’re upheld by the courts, the state’s newly drawn congressional district could cut the number of Democrats the state sends to Washington by half.

One of the Democrats potentially facing a tougher reelection is Davis.

The state’s new congressional district lines, drawn by state Republican lawmakers, makes the first a swing district, the only one under the new map. 

“I believe that we will be fine in the election because people will look at our record, look at the fighter they have before them,” Davis said.

A number of Republicans have lined up to run against Davis in 2024.

In Congress, Davis said he’s focused on passing a bipartisan farm bill, combating inflation and creating more jobs in eastern North Carolina in 2024.