2026 forecast · North Carolina 1st

Don Davis is favored to win North Carolina's 1st District.

Don Davis vs Laurie Buckhout. The model has Davis ahead by 4.1 points, winning 74 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Lean DModel D +4.1Polls D +3.0Updated October 22, 2026
Don Davis
Democrat
51.1%
161,290 projected votes
Laurie Buckhout
Republican
47.1%
148,542 projected votes
74%Davis
26%Buckhout
Davis favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Davis wins about 74 of 100
RatingLean D74% chance for Davis
Model marginD +4.1Polls D +3.0
80 percent rangeD +12.2 to R +3.92,000 simulations
Projected votes315,587Davis 51.1%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

North Carolina districts

14 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Don DavisDemocrat · 74% to win
51.1%
Laurie BuckhoutRepublican · 26% to win
47.1%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

315,587 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Don Davis D161,29051.1%
Laurie Buckhout R148,54247.1%
Tom Bailey L5,7551.8%
Total315,587100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%74% Davis26% Buckhout15 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

Polls of the race

PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageD +3.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Davis +4.1
Chance of winning
Don Davis74%
Laurie Buckhout26%
Simulated vote
Don Davis51.1%
Laurie Buckhout47.1%
Tom Bailey1.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +12.0
FundamentalsD +3.6
With pollsD +3.6
Early vote turnoutD +0.4
With early voteD +4.1

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in North Carolina, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +14R +14Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +12.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +3.6With pollsaverage D +3.0D +3.6With early voteturnout so farD +4.1
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.