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 counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the Inner Banks and the Research Trian ...
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
The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...
from 2013 to 2023. Davis was first elected to the post in 2008, representing
Pitt,
Wayne, and
Greene
Greene may refer to:
Places United States
*Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community
*Greene, Iowa, a city
*Greene, Maine, a town
** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene
*Greene (town), New York
** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...
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 U ...
. Davis earned a Master of Science in Administration degree with a concentration in general administration from
Central Michigan University 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
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 counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the Inner Banks and the Research Trian ...
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 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. 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
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 marke ...
. 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.
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
.
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 Province in the 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 ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
" 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.
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. He won the Democratic primary for the
2022 election for North Carolina's 1st congressional district, defeating former state senator
Erica D. Smith.
In November 2022, Davis won the general election, defeating Republican nominee
Sandy Smith.
Caucus memberships
*
New Democrat Coalition
The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters.
As of ...
*
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...
See also
*
List of African-American United States representatives
The United States House of Representatives has had 156 elected African Americans, African-American members, of whom 150 have been representatives from U.S. states and 6 have been Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives, ...
References
External links
Congressman Don Davisofficial U.S. House website
Don Davis for Congresscampaign website
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{{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