Election Day, Nov 3 6 daysSenate D 85%House D 97%Governors D 86%Forecast updated Oct 28
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 6.2 points, winning 84 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Likely DModel D +6.2Polls D +3.0Updated October 28, 2026
Don Davis
Democrat
52.1%
164,577 projected votes
Laurie Buckhout
Republican
46.0%
145,255 projected votes
84%Davis
16%Buckhout
Davis favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Davis wins about 84 of 100
RatingLikely D84% chance for Davis
Model marginD +6.2Polls D +3.0
80 percent rangeD +14.3 to R +1.92,000 simulations
Projected votes315,587Davis 52.1%

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 · 84% to win
52.1%
Laurie BuckhoutRepublican · 16% to win
46.0%

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 D164,57752.1%
Laurie Buckhout R145,25546.0%
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%84% Davis16% Buckhout18 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 +6.2
Chance of winning
Don Davis84%
Laurie Buckhout16%
Simulated vote
Don Davis52.1%
Laurie Buckhout46.0%
Tom Bailey1.8%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +12.0
FundamentalsD +11.1
With pollsD +6.2

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 +11.1With pollsaverage D +3.0D +6.2
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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.