Donald Gene Davis (born August 29, 1971) is an American politician serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

North Carolina's 1st congressional district North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It consists of many Black Belt in the American South, Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the I ...

since 2023. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, 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 life and education

Davis was born in the town of Snow Hill. In 1989, he graduated from McArthur High School in Irving, Texas. He earned a Bachelor of Science in social sciences from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

. Davis earned a Master of Science in Administration degree with a concentration in general administration from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

and a Master of Arts in sociology degree with a concentration in social issues in regional development from East Carolina University. He also earned a Doctor of Education in educational leadership with a concentration in higher education administration from East Carolina University. Davis has completed courses in the Commissioned Lay Minister Program through the New Hope Presbytery, Presbyterian Church United States of America.

Early political career

Elected mayor of Snow Hill in 2001, Davis also chaired

. He filed to run for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in the 1st district in 2004, but dropped out before the primary election. 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 John Hosea Kerr III (February 28, 1936 – May 24, 2015) was a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing constituents in Greene, Lenoir and Wayne counties. Born in Richmond, Virginia, Kerr grew up in Warrenton, Nor ...

. He received the most votes, 36%, in the May 6, 2008,

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

. As Davis did not receive the 40% of the vote required to win the primary, he faced Kathy Taft in a

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

. On June 24, 2008, Davis won the Democratic nomination with 63% of the vote in the runoff. He faced North Carolina Representative

Louis Pate Louis Milford Pate Jr. (born September 22, 1936) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's eleventh House district from 1995 through 1996 and from 2003 through 2 ...

, 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. In a rematch of the 2008 election, Pate defeated Davis in the 2010 election. In October 2013, Davis went on a legislative visit to China sponsored by the

Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries The Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC, or in short) is one of the major foreign affairs organizations of the People's Republic of China. The organization manages China's sister city relationships. Its ...

. In July 2014, it was reported that Davis had "met with a group of Chinese medical exchange students from

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

" to "discuss the role politics plays in health care". Davis ran unopposed in 2016. He defeated Pitt County District Attorney Kimberly Robb in the 2018 election. Dondavis

Committee assignments *Agriculture, Energy, and Environment *Appropriations on Education/Higher Education *Education/Higher Education *Health Care *Redistricting and Elections *Rules and Operations of the Senate *Select Committee on Nominations *Select Committee on Storm Related River Debris and Damage in NC

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

On December 1, 2021, Davis announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives to succeed retiring Democrat

G. K. Butterfield George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. (born April 27, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elec ...

. He won the Democratic primary for the 2022 election for North Carolina's 1st congressional district, defeating former state senator

Erica D. Smith Erica Danette Smith (born November 24, 1969) is an American engineer and politician who represented District 3 in the North Carolina Senate from 2015 to 2021. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 United States Senate elec ...

. In November 2022, Davis won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Sandy Smith.

Caucus memberships

* New Democrat Coalition * Congressional Black Caucus

References

External links

Congressman Don Davis
official U.S. House website
Don Davis for Congress
campaign website * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Donald G. 1971 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American mayors in North Carolina African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in North Carolina American Presbyterians Central Michigan University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina state senators East Carolina University alumni East Carolina University faculty Living people Mayors of places in North Carolina People from Snow Hill, North Carolina United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force officers