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) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Yuvonka Shawnte' Batts Davis |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| 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 former Air Force officer serving as theUnited States representative forNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2023.[2] He was elected to a new term in 2024 in a closely contested race.[3][4]
As a member of theDemocratic Party, he represented the5th district in theNorth Carolina Senate from 2013 to 2023. Davis was first elected to the post in 2008, representingPitt,Wayne, andGreene counties. He was defeated for reelection in 2010, but ran and won a Senate seat for the newly redrawn 5th district in the 2012 election.[5]
Davis was born inSnow Hill inNorth Carolina.[6] He also lived inIrving, Texas, for a period, attendingMacArthur High School.[7]
He attended theUnited States Air Force Academy, where he earned aBachelor of Science degree in 1994.[8] After graduation, he was commissioned into theUnited States Air Force, serving for eight years and rising to the rank ofcaptain.[9] During his service, Davis was a coordinator ofAir Force One operations atJoint Base Andrews.[6]
Davis received amaster of science degree fromCentral Michigan University.[8] He then returned to North Carolina, where he taught and completed amaster of arts in sociology and adoctorate in education atEast Carolina University.[9]
Davis began his teaching career as an assistant professor ofaerospace studies at theAir Force ROTC department atEast Carolina University starting in 1998.[6] He taught courses inmilitary history, leadership, and national affairs.[9] He was discharged from the Air Force in 2001.[8]
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.[10] He was reelected as mayor in 2005.[11]
In 2007, Davis announced his candidacy for theNorth Carolina's 5th Senate district seat.[9] 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.[12] However, since he did not secure the 40% required to win outright, he advanced to a runoff against Kathy Taft.[13]
In June 2008, Davis won the Democratic nomination with 63% of the vote in therunoff.[14] He went on to face North Carolina representativeLouis Pate, a Republican fromWayne County, in the general election.[14] 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.[5] Davis ran unopposed in 2016. He defeated Pitt County district attorney Kimberly Robb in the 2018 election.[17]
On December 1, 2021, Davis announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives to succeed retiring DemocratG. K. Butterfield.[19] He won the Democratic primary for the2022 election for North Carolina's 1st congressional district, defeating former state senatorErica D. Smith.[2] In November 2022, Davis won the general election, defeating Republican nomineeSandy Smith.[20]
Davis won reelection in 2024. He defeated Republican Laurie Buckhout by 1.5%.[21][3][4]
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Davis was sworn into office on January 7, 2023, as theU.S. representative forNorth Carolina's 1st congressional district.[22] During the118th Congress, he was appointed to theArmed Services andAgriculture committees.[22] 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.[23]
In October 2023, Davis voted to provide Israel with support following theHamas-led attack on Israel.[24][25] He was among the House Democrats who voted tocensure RepresentativeRashida Tlaib for her comments about theGaza war.[26] 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.[27]
In 2024, Davis invited 109-year-old Cassie Smith fromBattleboro, North Carolina, to attend theState of the Union address.[28] That same year, 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.[29] As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Davis also helped secure a provision in the2025 National Defense Authorization Act that prevented the loss of 520 jobs atSeymour Johnson Air Force Base, avoided the retirement of the base'sF-15E aircraft, and included pay raises for service members.[30]
Davis'scommittee assignments for the119th Congress include:[31]
Davis'scaucus memberships include:[32]
Davis is married to Yuvonka. They live inGreene County, North Carolina, and have three sons.[33] He isPresbyterian and alay minister.[9]
| 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 309th | Succeeded by |
