Republican Sandy Roberson announced his campaign to represent North Carolina’s First Congressional District in Congress on April 23, becoming the first major GOP candidate to run for the seat held by incumbent Democratic North Carolina Rep. Don Davis.
Roberson is the two-term mayor of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the largest city in the district, which comprises much of the northeastern part of the state. The candidate aligned himself with President Donald Trump in his announcement X post, saying he will stand with him to accomplish the president’s agenda and “take on the tough issues.”
“I’m running for Congress because North Carolinians deserve a representative who isn’t afraid to take on the tough issues,” Roberson said in a press release. “In Congress, I’ll stand with President Trump to secure our border, stop the flow of deadly fentanyl into our region, and unleash the American economy to benefit the citizens of North Carolina’s First District.”
The district has been continuously represented by Democrats since 1883. However, it became more friendly to Republicans when, in 2023 GOP-led North Carolina General Assembly redrew the state’s 14 districts in a rare instance of mid-decade redistricting. In 2024, Trump won the district by three points while at the same time Davis won reelection to a second term by 1.7 points.
In stark contrast, the North Carolina GOP (“NCGOP”) said they are “firmly targeting” Davis in an attempt to flip the seat in the midterms. The NCGOP told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Davis is living on “borrowed time” in Washington. Davis has not yet officially announced whether he is running for reelection in 2026.
“I think the district can certainly do better. [Davis] thinks he can play the strategy of kind of hiding his true intent by sometimes voting on certain things when he’s allowed to by Hakeem Jeffries and out-of-state donors, but is he going to vote for the big beautiful bill? Is he going to vote to secure the border?” NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer told the DCNF. “Republicans feel very strongly that Davis is beatable. We can put a Republican in there that will stand with President Trump against Don Davis.”
The NCGOP mentioned Davis’ voting record as a source of discontent, telling the DCNF, “That is just not someone who is capable of taking a stand.”
Davis voted “present” on the Protect Women And Girls In Sports Act, and “no” on the budget bill that passed the House in February. Also, when the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act was presented in Congress last year, Davis voted for it, but when it was on the House floor in April, he voted against it.
“After promising to put North Carolinians first, Don Davis has voted to make life more expensive and less safe, flip-flopped and voted to let illegal immigrants vote, and even refused to ban biological males from competing in girls’ sports,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told the DCNF. “Don Davis continues to prove that he’s completely out of touch with his constituents, and they’ll hold him accountable next November.”
Roberson already has the backing of Laurie Buckhout, the district’s 2024 GOP nominee who narrowly lost to Davis by 1.7 points.
“I am thrilled to endorse Mayor Sandy Roberson for Congress in North Carolina’s First Congressional District,” Buckhout, a retired Army Colonel, said. “Sandy has been a friend and fellow conservative for years. I’ve seen firsthand what a warrior he is for our district, and I know he’s the best and only candidate to stop the far left in Washington. I encourage every Republican to rally behind Mayor Roberson so we can take this seat back from a Democratic Party that has forgotten the citizens of Eastern North Carolina.”
Roberson previously ran to represent the district in 2022, losing the Republican primary to Sandy Smith by 4.7 points. Smith went on to lose to Davis by just under five points in a slightly more Democratic version of the district.
Davis’s campaign team did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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