North Carolina congressional race already showing signs of competitiveness

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In many ways, the 2026 election for North Carolina’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives won’t be very different from the last election.

The court-ordered 2022 maps sent seven Democrats and seven Republicans to Washington, D.C. But the 2024 maps, drawn by the GOP-led North Carolina General Assembly, made sure that Republicans would take control of some of those seats.

It paid off. The 2024 election left some incumbent Democrats choosing to not run.

Ten Republicans and four Democrats won the 2024 race. Out of 14 congressional districts, only one district was considered competitive. District 1 Democratic incumbent Rep. Don Davis won that election against Laurie Buckhout, the Republican candidate, by 6,307 votes.  

District 1 consists of 22 northeastern and central North Carolina counties. The geographic area is so large, it includes two television markets, and TV advertising is where the majority of campaign money is spent. It should be of little surprise the two most well-known 2026 candidates in that race, so far, are building a war chest some 16 months before the general election.  

Financial data reported to the Federal Election Commission by individual candidate committees shows Davis has $1.11 million on hand as of June 30. While that is a large sum this early in the race, the person Davis could face on the ballot has almost twice the amount of cash.  

Having announced that he will run for Davis’ seat, Sandy Roberson, the current Republican mayor of Rocky Mount, has $2.22 million on hand. But there’s still plenty of time for other contenders to enter the race, which would force Roberson’s campaign to spend part of what is raised on a primary.

Roberson previously ran for Congress in 2022, but lost the GOP primary to Sandy Smith, who then lost to Davis.  

With Congress so narrowly divided, North Carolina’s 1st congressional district is considered a coveted seat by both parties.

Other North Carolina incumbents cash on hand:

• NC 02 Rep. Deborah Ross (D) $936,752
• NC 06 Rep. Addison McDowell (R) $264,566
• NC 07 Rep. David Rouzer (D) 1,746,026
• NC 09 Rep. Richard Hudson (R) $1,135,314
• NC 10 Rep. Pat Harrigan (R) $217,521
• NC 11 Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) $163,284
• NC 14 Rep. Tim Moore (R) $1.29 million