North Carolina Democratic Rep. Don Davis fended off a challenge from Republican Laurie Buckhout — keeping a key House seat in the Democrats’ column as they seek to take control of the chamber.
Davis won in the 1st Congressional District with 49.5% of the vote to Buckhout’s 47.9%, with 99% of votes counted, the Associated Press reports.
The district is a longtime Democratic stronghold, but state redistricting last year made the seat more competitive.
He’s distanced himself from Biden’s controversial comments calling Trump supporters “garbage” in the final week before the election.
“We must lower the temperature on all fronts and reject referring to individuals or communities as ‘garbage.’ Our campaign remains focused on uniting, and not dividing eastern North Carolina families and the American people,” he tweeted.
The race wasn’t just a rivalry of parties, but military branches. Davis is a US Air Force veteran, while Buckhout served in the US Army.
She retired after 26 years of service as an Army colonel, and later founded a consulting group specializing in electronic warfare and cyberspace operations, which she sold in 2019. Her platform focused on strengthening the economy and US border enforcement, and protecting Second Amendment rights.
Throughout the campaign, Davis has pitched himself as a political moderate who won’t be afraid to buck his party if it veers too far to the left.