RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican candidate Laurie Buckhout on Wednesday abandoned the race for North Carolina’s only congressional district after a tight, closely watched race against incumbent first-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis.
Buckhout issued a statement announcing her loss and congratulating Davis. Davis also issued a statement declaring victory and thanking his supporters. The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
With the vast majority of districts reporting, Davis and Buckhout were separated by a narrow margin in one of the few competitive districts in the Southeast.
The battle between Davis and Buckhout has drawn millions of dollars from both sides to flip or preserve the district, which stretches from Currituck County to a small part of Granville County in the northeastern part of the state.
The district’s political landscape is a little different for Davis than it was when he defeated Republican opponent Sandy Smith in 2022. Last year, the Republican Party-controlled state legislature added a handful of conservative-leaning counties to the district, making it less blue than it once was. was.
Davis was born and raised in Snow Hill and has held several political positions in the region, including as mayor of his hometown and as a state senator. He is also a veteran of the United States Air Force.
Buckhout served in the U.S. Army for more than 25 years before retiring and founding a Virginia-based military technology consulting firm. She sold the business and moved to Edenton a few years ago.
Both Davis and Buckhout have tried to link each other to the unpopular policies or controversial behavior of other candidates in their respective parties.
Buckhout’s campaign has repeatedly tried to link Davis to Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic and immigration policies as a way to win over voters dissatisfied with the Biden-Harris administration. Davis voted with Republicans in the House of Representatives in July to condemn Harris’ work on the U.S.-Mexico border, and endorsed her presidential bid a day later. He also campaigned with her and spoke at one of her rallies in Greenville in October.
Democratic groups backing Davis, meanwhile, have tried to draw connections between Buckhout and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose gubernatorial campaign is fighting back against a CNN report alleging he made several sexually explicit and racist comments on an online pornography forum about a decade ago. Robinson has denied the claims and The Associated Press has not independently verified them.
Those groups have also used photos of Buckhout appearing with Robinson to link her to the lieutenant governor’s changing position on abortion restrictions. Buckhout has previously said she focuses on her own race rather than Robinson’s.
