North Carolina Democrat Don Davis, whose House seat was made significantly redder by state Republicans under a new congressional map, announced Monday that he would run for a third term from his redrawn 1st District, even though his home now lies in a neighboring district.

“Many feel Washington, D.C., isn’t serving their needs, and the redistricting battle clearly proves it,’’ Davis said on social media. “I’m running in NC-01 to ensure everyone, from the northeast to the coast, has a powerful voice in Congress. We’re in this fight together!”

Earlier this month, Davis topped CQ Roll Call’s list of the most vulnerable members of the House heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

His decision, first reported by Punchbowl News, comes more than a month after the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature redrew the state’s congressional lines at the urging of President Donald Trump. The effort was part of a nationwide redistricting push by Trump and his allies, who are seeking to bolster Republicans’ chances of maintaining their House majority next year.

Republicans already dominate North Carolina’s congressional delegation, holding 10 of the state’s 14 House seats.

The new North Carolina map dramatically reshaped Davis’ 1st District, a purple swath in the state’s northeastern corner that he has represented since 2023. The seat shifted from one Trump carried by 3 points in 2024 to one that would have backed him by 12 points, according to calculations by Inside Election with Nathan L. Gonzales.

Following the adoption of the new map, Inside Elections changed its race rating for the 1st District from Toss-up to Tilt Republican.

The redrawn map also updated the boundaries of the 3rd District held by Republican Greg Murphy. But it remains a safe Republican seat, with Trump’s winning 2024 margin changing from 22 points to 14 points.

Davis’ home in Snow Hill is now within the boundaries of the 3rd District.

Murphy had reportedly been weighing running for reelection from either the 1st or 3rd districts, but he announced in October that he was sticking to the 3rd and and quickly received an endorsement from Trump.

The new map, which a panel of federal district judges last week cleared for use, would be the fifth one used for House races in North Carolina in as many election cycles.

Following reapportionment after the 2020 census, North Carolina used a court-approved map for the 2022 cycle, which saw seven Republicans and seven Democrats elected to the House from the battleground state. But after the GOP won control of the state Supreme Court that same year, Republican state lawmakers redrew the map for the 2024 election and went on to flip three Democratic seats last fall.

Davis, an Air Force veteran, spent more than a decade in the North Carolina Senate before his election to the House. He serves on the House Agriculture and Armed Services committees and is also a member of the center-left New Democrat Coalition.

Several Republicans are vying to take him on in the 1st District, including state Sen. Bobby Hanig, Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson, Lenoir County Commissioner Eric Rouse and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck.

Davis entered October with $1.6 million in the bank, according to third-quarter filings with the Federal Election Commission. Roberson, who loaned his campaign $3 million through Sept. 30, had $2.4 million on hand and Hanig had $246,000. Rouse and Buck entered the race after September and have yet to file fundraising reports.

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