Don Davis (North Carolina politician)

Last updated

Don Davis
Portrait of Congressman Don Davis.jpg
Official portrait, 2022
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from North Carolina's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Website House website
Campaign website
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service1994–2001
Rank Captain

Donald Gene Davis (born August 29, 1971) [1] is an American politician and former Air Force officer serving as the United States representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2023. [2] He was elected to a new term in 2024 in a closely contested race. [3] [4]

Contents

As a member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 5th district in the North Carolina Senate from 2013 to 2023. Davis was first elected to the post in 2008, representing Pitt, Wayne, and Greene counties. He was defeated for reelection in 2010, but ran and won a Senate seat for the newly redrawn 5th district in the 2012 election. [5]

Early life and education

Davis was born in Snow Hill in North Carolina. [6] He also lived in Irving, Texas, for a period, attending MacArthur High School. [7]

He attended the United States Air Force Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1994. [8] After graduation, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force, serving for eight years and rising to the rank of captain. [9] During his service, Davis was a coordinator of Air Force One operations at Joint Base Andrews. [6]

Davis received a master of science degree from Central Michigan University. [8] He then returned to North Carolina, where he taught and completed a master of arts in sociology and a doctorate in education at East Carolina University. [9]

Early career

Davis began his teaching career as an assistant professor of aerospace studies at the Air Force ROTC department at East Carolina University starting in 1998. [6] He taught courses in military history, leadership, and national affairs. [9] He was discharged from the Air Force in 2001. [8]

In 2001, Davis was elected mayor of Snow Hill. He also served as the chair of the Democratic Party for North Carolina's 1st congressional district. In 2004, he briefly ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1st district but withdrew before the primary. [10] He was reelected as mayor in 2005. [11]

North Carolina Senate

Elections

2008–2010

In 2007, Davis announced his candidacy for the North Carolina's 5th Senate district seat. [9] He was one of six Democratic candidates to compete for the position, which was being vacated by retiring senator John Kerr III. In the May 2008 primary election, Davis received 36% of the vote, the highest among the candidates. [12] However, since he did not secure the 40% required to win outright, he advanced to a runoff against Kathy Taft. [13]

In June 2008, Davis won the Democratic nomination with 63% of the vote in the runoff. [14] He went on to face North Carolina representative Louis Pate, a Republican from Wayne County, in the general election. [14] Davis defeated Pate, winning 53% of the vote in November 2008. His term as senator for District 5, representing Pitt, Wayne, and Greene counties, began on January 1, 2009. [15] However, in 2010, Davis was defeated by Pate in a rematch of the 2008 election. [16]

2012–2022

Portrait as North Carolina State Senator, 2013 Dondavis.jpg
Portrait as North Carolina State Senator, 2013

After his defeat in 2010, Davis ran and won a Senate seat for the newly redrawn 5th district in the 2012 election. [5] Davis ran unopposed in 2016. He defeated Pitt County district attorney Kimberly Robb in the 2018 election. [17]

Committee assignments

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

On December 1, 2021, Davis announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives to succeed retiring Democrat G. K. Butterfield. [19] He won the Democratic primary for the 2022 election for North Carolina's 1st congressional district, defeating former state senator Erica D. Smith. [2] In November 2022, Davis won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Sandy Smith. [20]

2024

Davis won reelection in 2024. He defeated Republican Laurie Buckhout by 1.5%. [21] [3] [4]

Tenure

Davis talking with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin 230329-D-KY598-1194 (52779616521).jpg
Davis talking with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin

Davis was sworn into office on January 7, 2023, as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district. [22] During the 118th Congress, he was appointed to the Armed Services and Agriculture committees. [22] In August, Davis introduced with Republican Representative Marcus Molinaro the bipartisan Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act to improve rural access to federal flood mitigation programs and reduce the financial costs to communities facing flood risks. [23]

In October 2023, Davis voted to provide Israel with support following the Hamas-led attack on Israel. [24] [25] He was among the House Democrats who voted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib for her comments about the Gaza war. [26] In March 2024, Davis, Representative August Pfluger, and a news reporter wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Examiner , which criticized the push by many members of Congress to condition U.S. aid to Israel. [27]

In 2024, Davis invited 109-year-old Cassie Smith from Battleboro, North Carolina, to attend the State of the Union address. [28] That same year, he was the sole Democratic co-sponsor of a Republican-led bill by Representatives Greg Murphy and Brett Guthrie that would limit Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices. [29] As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Davis also helped secure a provision in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act that prevented the loss of 520 jobs at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, avoided the retirement of the base's F-15E aircraft, and included pay raises for service members. [30]

Committee assignments

Davis visits Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, 2025 Don Davis Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.jpg
Davis visits Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, 2025

Davis's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include: [31]

Caucus memberships

Davis's caucus memberships include: [32]

Personal life

Davis is married to Yuvonka. They live in Greene County, North Carolina, and have three sons. [33] He is Presbyterian and a lay minister. [9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rep. Don Davis (R-North Carolina, 1st)". November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Davis wins Democratic primary for 1st Congressional District". WITN. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Donald Davis". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Democratic incumbent Don Davis wins reelection in North Carolina's only toss-up congressional race". AP News. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Wooten, Kimberly (December 1, 2021). "State Senator, former Snow Hill mayor running for Congress, Butterfield seat".
  6. 1 2 3 "North Carolina New Members 2023". The Hill. November 17, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Unearthed yearbook photos raise questions over bio of NC-01's Davis".
  8. 1 2 3 "Davis, Don 1971 –". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Goldsboro News-Argus | News: Don Davis files for John Kerr's seat in N.C. Senate". savannah.newsargus.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  10. ↑ News & Observer: U.S. Rep. Ballance resigns [ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ "Goldsboro News-Argus | News: Don Davis to resign as Snow Hill mayor". savannah.newsargus.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Goldsboro News-Argus | News: Davis will battle Pate". savannah.newsargus.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Goldsboro News-Argus | News: Runoff in works for seat in Senate". savannah.newsargus.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Goldsboro News-Argus | News: BREAKING NEWS - State Senate District 5 runoff results". savannah.newsargus.com. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ News & Observer: Legislators began on January 1, technically Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ "11/04/2008 Official General Election Results Statewide" (PDF). nccourts.gov. June 27, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  17. ↑ Livingston, Ginger. "Robb running for NC Senate".
  18. ↑ "2021-2022 Session SPC's Office, Senate Committee Assignments by Member". North Carolina General Assembly 10th Edition. September 8, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Senator Don Davis announces campaign for Congress to replace Butterfield". WITN. December 1, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ "NC Senator Don Davis defeated Sandy Smith in the state's first Congressional District". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. November 9, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  21. ↑ Apel, Alyse. "GOP CC invests $1.45M in Buckhout campaign". Daily Advance. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  22. 1 2 "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". April 15, 2024. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  23. ↑ Pumphrey, Michelle (August 23, 2023). "Congressman Don Davis introduces bipartisan bill to tackle rural America's flooding challe". WCTI. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  24. ↑ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  26. ↑ Fink, Jenni (November 7, 2023). "Full List of Democrats Who Voted to Censure Rashida Tlaib". Newsweek . Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  27. ↑ Pfluger, August; Davis, Don; Makovsky, Michael (March 27, 2024). "Conditioning US aid to Israel would be a mistake". Washington Examiner . Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  28. ↑ Coffey, Kelsey (March 7, 2024). "NC guests to attend State of the Union address in Washington, DC". WRAL News . Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  29. ↑ Cohrs, Rachel (February 5, 2024). "The lone Democrat willing to weaken Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices". Stat News . Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  30. ↑ Richards, Charlene (December 18, 2024). "Senate vote shields loss of F-15E jets and jobs at Seymour Johnson AFB". WITN-TV (Channel 7) .
  31. ↑ "Don Davis". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  32. 1 2 3 "Rep. Don Davis - D North Carolina, 1st, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  33. ↑ "Rep. Don Davis - D North Carolina, 1st, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 1st congressional district
2023–present		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
309th		Succeeded by
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