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Don Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 1st district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byG. K. Butterfield
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2023
Preceded byLouis Pate
Succeeded byKandie Smith
In office
January 1, 2009 – January 1, 2011
Preceded byJohn Kerr
Succeeded byLouis Pate
Personal details
Born
Donald Gene Davis

(1971-08-29) August 29, 1971 (age 52)
Snow Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseYuvonka Batts
EducationUnited States Air Force Academy (BS)
Central Michigan University (MS)
East Carolina University (MA, EdD)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force

Donald Gene Davis (born August 29, 1971)[1] is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2023.[2]

A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 5th district in the North Carolina Senate from 2013 to 2023. Davis was first elected to the post in 2008, representing Pitt, Wayne, and Greene 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.

Early political career

Elected mayor of Snow Hill in 2001, Davis also chaired North Carolina's 1st congressional district Democratic Party. He filed to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1st district in 2004, but dropped out before the primary election.[3]

In 2005, Davis was reelected as mayor. On October 1, 2007, he announced plans to file for the North Carolina Senate District 5 seat. Davis was one of six Democratic candidates to file for the seat held by retiring Senator John Kerr III. He received the most votes, 36%, in the May 6, 2008, primary election.

As Davis did not receive the 40% of the vote required to win the primary, he faced Kathy Taft in a runoff. On June 24, 2008, Davis won the Democratic nomination with 63% of the vote in the runoff. He faced North Carolina Representative Louis Pate, a Wayne County Republican, in the general election.

On November 4, 2008, Davis defeated Pate with 53% of the vote. His term began on January 1, 2009.[4]

In a rematch of the 2008 election, Pate defeated Davis in the 2010 election.[5]

In October 2013, Davis went on a legislative visit to China sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.[6]

In July 2014, it was reported that Davis had "met with a group of Chinese medical exchange students from Wuhan" to "discuss the role politics plays in health care".[7]

Davis ran unopposed in 2016. He defeated Pitt County District Attorney Kimberly Robb in the 2018 election.[8]

Don Davis' Portrait as a Member of the North Carolina Senate

Committee assignments

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina § District 1

On December 1, 2021, Davis announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives to succeed retiring Democrat G. K. Butterfield.[9] He won the Democratic primary for the 2022 election for North Carolina's 1st congressional district, defeating former state senator Erica D. Smith.[2] In November 2022, Davis won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Sandy Smith.

Tenure

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024)

Davis invited a 109-year-old woman from Battleboro named Cassie Smith to attend the 2024 State of the Union Address. He called Smith a "living symbol of our democracy".[10]

Caucus memberships

Source:[11]

Political positions

Healthcare

He co-sponsored a bill by Representatives Greg Murphy and Brett Guthrie to weaken Medicare's price reduction negotiation program in 2024, saying in a written statement that Congress needs to "support the development of critical, life-sustaining medical treatments and cures".[13]

Israel-Hamas war

Davis voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.[14][15] He was also among the House Democrats who voted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib for her comments about the Israel-Hamas war.[16]

In March 2024, Davis, representative August Pfluger, and a news reporter wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Examiner. The piece criticized the push by many members of Congress to condition U.S. aid to Israel.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rep. Don Davis (R-North Carolina, 1st)". November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Davis wins Democratic primary for 1st Congressional District". WITN. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  3. ^ News & Observer: U.S. Rep. Ballance resigns[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ News & Observer: Legislators began on January 1, technically Archived January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "11/04/2008 Official General Election Results Statewide" (PDF). nccourts.gov. June 27, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  6. ^ "Legislators, NC contingent in China for economic development trip".
  7. ^ "Chinese students meet lawmakers".
  8. ^ Livingston, Ginger. "Robb running for NC Senate".
  9. ^ "Senator Don Davis announces campaign for Congress to replace Butterfield". WITN. December 1, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Coffey, Kelsey (March 7, 2024). "NC guests to attend State of the Union address in Washington, DC". WRAL News. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  11. ^ "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Davis. January 3, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  12. ^ "NewDem Members". NewDem Action Fund. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  13. ^ Cohrs, Rachel (February 5, 2024). "The lone Democrat willing to weaken Medicare's power to negotiate drug prices". Stat News. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  14. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Fink, Jenni (November 7, 2023). "Full List of Democrats Who Voted to Censure Rashida Tlaib". Newsweek. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  17. ^ Pfluger, August; Davis, Don; Makovsky, Michael (March 27, 2024). "Conditioning US aid to Israel would be a mistake". Washington Examiner. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

External links

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Donald G. Davis
North Carolina Senate Preceded byJohn Kerr Member of the North Carolina Senatefrom the 5th district 2009–2011 Succeeded byLouis Pate Preceded byLouis Pate Member of the North Carolina Senatefrom the 5th district 2013–2023 Succeeded byKandie Smith U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byG. K. Butterfield Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom North Carolina's 1st congressional district 2023–present Incumbent U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) Preceded byAnthony D'Esposito United States representatives by seniority 371st Succeeded byMonica De La Cruz
North Carolina's current delegation to the United States Congress
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North Carolina's delegation(s) to the 118th–present United States Congresses (ordered by seniority)
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