Rep. Don Davis (D., N.C.) has built his political brand around his identity as an eastern North Carolinian, frequently touting his local roots in the state’s only swing district. Yet 90 percent of the individual donations to the Democrat came from out of state last quarter.
"If you from [sic] eastern North Carolina, which I am, we know about huntin’, we know about fishin', we know about some good barbeque," Davis told reporters on March 3. He offered nearly identical remarks in an interview with Spectrum News several months earlier and pushed a similar message during his first run for office.
"I am a 5th-generation eastern North Carolinian," he posted on X in 2022. "I grew up cropping tobacco with my uncles, as many of my neighbors still do, and now I minister at the same church my grandmother prayed in."
But of the roughly $360,000 Davis raised between January and March, just $37,000—about 10 percent—came from in-state donors, campaign finance records show. That’s only slightly higher than two pots of approximately $34,000 that came from New York City and Washington, D.C.-area residents.
The preceding quarter was even more lopsided: Davis received only about $10,000 from North Carolina contributors out of roughly $160,000 in individual donations overall, or about 6 percent.
This disconnect comes as Davis heads into another highly competitive election cycle. He won reelection in 2024 by less than 2 percentage points and is considered to be among the most vulnerable House Democrats. He is also 1 of the 13 Democrats representing a district carried by President Donald Trump, who defeated former vice president Kamala Harris in North Carolina's First Congressional District by nearly 5 percentage points. Redistricting last year shaved off a liberal flank in the west known as the "Black Belt," making reelection harder for Davis, according to NC Newsline.
And while Davis tries to relate to voters through his local bona fides, he has also revealed that his constituents’ priorities differ from his votes. Among the "Top 10 Constituent Concerns" he listed in his Dec. 31 "Year in Review" newsletter was "Extending the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," Trump's signature economic overhaul, which was signed into law in 2017 and lowered rates for individuals and businesses. An extension of those tax cuts was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law in July, but Davis called the legislation "fiscally irresponsible" and voted against it.
Davis has faced scrutiny over his use of taxpayer funds, as well. In January 2024, a year into his first term, Davis billed taxpayers roughly $2,300 for ride-share expenses during a single-day trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, where he toured the southern border. The charges came amid broader travel costs for the trip that totaled nearly $10,000, even though comparable transportation arrangements were estimated to cost closer to $1,000, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Davis is set to face Trump-endorsed Republican Laurie Buckhout in November—a rematch of their 2024 contest.
Davis’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
