RALEIGH (NCN News) – Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis is headed back to Washington after defeating Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout in an Eastern North Carolina district that state Republicans redrew in an attempt to unseat him. It was also the most expensive U.S. House race in general election history.
Davis told supporters at his watch party after the race was called, “Because of you, tonight, we’re going to continue to walk the halls of Congress.”
Buckhout conceded to Davis, calling to congratulate him and wish him well. To her supporters in Edenton, she said, “We didn’t quite probably make the history that I wanted to make tonight, but we made them spend a lot of money and fight real hard to take this old soldier down.”
“He’s going to be accountable, we’re going to be watching him, and I don’t want this to be the forgotten district,” Buckhout added.
The 1st Congressional District has been represented by a Black man or woman since 1992, when Eva Clayton became the first woman elected to Congress from North Carolina. The district hasn’t been represented by a Republican since 1883.