Don Davis | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's1st district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | G. K. Butterfield |
| Member of theNorth Carolina Senate from the5th district | |
| In office January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Louis Pate |
| Succeeded by | Kandie Smith |
| In office January 1, 2009 – January 1, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | John Kerr |
| Succeeded by | Louis Pate |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Gene Davis (1971-08-29)August 29, 1971 (age 54) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Yuvonka Davis |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1994–2001 |
| Rank | Captain |
Donald Gene Davis (born August 29, 1971)[1] is an American politician and formerAir Force officer serving as theUnited States representative forNorth Carolina's1st congressional district since 2023.[2] A member of theDemocratic Party, he previously served in theNorth Carolina Senate for a decade, representing the 5th district from 2013 to 2023, following an earlier term from 2009 to 2011.[3]
Born inSnow Hill, North Carolina, Davis graduated from theUnited States Air Force Academy and served as an Air Force officer before returning to North Carolina, where he worked as an educator and entered local politics as mayor of Snow Hill.
Davis was elected to Congress in 2022, succeeding longtime incumbentG. K. Butterfield, and won reelection in 2024 in a closely contested race. He is considered amoderate Democrat.[4] In Congress he has focused on issues affecting his district in the northeast part of the state, including agriculture, defense, and rural infrastructure.
Davis was born inSnow Hill inNorth Carolina.[5] He also lived inIrving, Texas, for a period, attendingMacArthur High School.[6]
He attended theUnited States Air Force Academy, where he earned aBachelor of Science degree in 1994.[7] After graduation, he was commissioned into theUnited States Air Force, serving for eight years and rising to the rank ofcaptain.[8] During his service, Davis was a coordinator ofAir Force One operations atJoint Base Andrews.[5]
Davis received amaster of science degree fromCentral Michigan University.[7] He then returned to North Carolina, where he taught and completed amaster of arts in sociology and adoctorate in education atEast Carolina University.[8]
Davis began his teaching career as an assistant professor ofaerospace studies at theAir Force ROTC department atEast Carolina University starting in 1998.[5] He taught courses inmilitary history, leadership, and national affairs.[8] He was discharged from the Air Force in 2001.[7]
In 2001, Davis was elected mayor of Snow Hill. He also served as the chair of theDemocratic Party forNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district. In 2004, he briefly ran for theU.S. House of Representatives in the 1st district but withdrew before the primary.[9] He was reelected as mayor in 2005.[10]
In 2007, Davis announced his candidacy for theNorth Carolina's 5th Senate district seat.[8] He was one of six Democratic candidates to compete for the position, which was being vacated by retiring senatorJohn Kerr III. In the May 2008primary election, Davis received 36% of the vote, the highest among the candidates.[11] However, since he did not secure the 40% required to win outright, he advanced to a runoff against Kathy Taft.[12]
In June 2008, Davis won the Democratic nomination with 63% of the vote in therunoff.[13][14] He went on to face North Carolina representativeLouis Pate, a Republican fromWayne County, in the general election.[13] Davis defeated Pate, winning 53% of the vote in November 2008. His term as senator for District 5, representingPitt, Wayne, andGreene counties, began on January 1, 2009.[15] However, in 2010, Davis was defeated by Pate in a rematch of the 2008 election.[16]
After his defeat in 2010, Davis ran and won a Senate seat for the newly redrawn 5th district in the 2012 election.[17] Davis ran unopposed in 2016. He defeated Pitt County district attorney Kimberly Robb in the 2018 election.[18]
In December 2021, Davis announced his candidacy for the U.S. House seat in North Carolina’s1st congressional district following the retirement of Democrat incumbentG. K. Butterfield.[20] Davis won the Democratic nomination in the May 2022 primary for the district, defeating former state senatorErica D. Smith and other candidates.[21]
In the Novembergeneral election, Davis faced Republican nomineeSandy Smith in the race for the district in the northeastern part of the state.[22] Represented by G. K. Butterfield since 2004, the district became more competitive in 2022 after a court-ordered map replaced partisan lines drawn by the Republican-ledGeneral Assembly.[22] Davis won the election with 52.27 percent of the vote to Smith’s 47.73 percent, maintaining Democratic control of the district.[23][24]
Davis ran for reelection in 2024 under congressional boundaries enacted by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2023, which replaced the court-ordered map used in 2022.[25] The revised map made the 1st congressional district the state’s only competitive district.[25] He defeated Republican nomineeLaurie Buckhout by 1.5 percentage points.[26][27][28]
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Davis was sworn into office on January 7, 2023, as theU.S. representative forNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district.[29] During the118th Congress, he was appointed to theArmed Services andAgriculture committees.[29] In August, Davis introduced with Republican RepresentativeMarcus 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.[30]
In October 2023, Davis voted to provide Israel with support following theHamas-led attack on Israel.[31][32] He was among the House Democrats who voted tocensure RepresentativeRashida Tlaib for her comments about theGaza war.[33] In March 2024, Davis, RepresentativeAugust Pfluger, and a news reporter wrote an opinion piece in theWashington Examiner, which criticized the push by many members of Congress to condition U.S. aid to Israel.[34]
In 2024, Davis invited 109-year-old Cassie Smith fromBattleboro, North Carolina, to attend theState of the Union address.[35] The following month, he was the sole Democratic co-sponsor of a Republican-led bill by representativesGreg Murphy andBrett Guthrie that would limitMedicare's ability to negotiate drug prices.[36] At the end of the year, he voted for the2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which authorized $895 billion in military spending and included provisions that prevented the elimination of 520 jobs atSeymour Johnson Air Force Base and delayed retirement of itsF-15E aircraft.[37]
In 2025, Davis joined Republicans in voting to ban gender affirming care for transgender minors, and criminalize anyone who helps them obtain it.[38]
On January 22, 2026, he voted to pass HR 7147 funding bill for the Dept. of Homeland Security, including funding for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).[39]
Davis'scommittee assignments for the119th Congress include:[40]
Davis'scaucus memberships include:[41]
Davis is married to Yuvonka. They live inGreene County, North Carolina, and have three sons.[41] He isPresbyterian and alay minister.[8]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 306th | Succeeded by |
