WASHINGTON – Federal election records show outside groups disclosed $551,425 in independent expenditures tied to North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in a group of filings highlighted Thursday, adding to national attention on the race between Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis and Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout.
The largest item was a $300,000 media placement and production expense by Rolling Sea Action Fund supporting Davis. The Federal Election Commission record lists Symmetry Media as the payee and Sept. 14 as the expenditure date.
No Going Back PAC reported $79,971 for direct-mail printing and postage supporting Buckhout and a matching $79,971 direct-mail expense opposing Davis. The group also reported a $1,483 text-message expense opposing Davis. Together, the two Davis-opposition items account for the $81,454 included in the Sept. 24 filing analysis.
Restoration of America PAC reported $90,000 in digital advertising opposing Davis, with Meta Platforms listed as the payee and Sept. 22 as the expenditure date.
Broken down by filing designation, $300,000 supported Davis, $79,971 supported Buckhout and $171,454 opposed Davis. The opposition total combines No Going Back PAC’s $81,454 with Restoration of America PAC’s $90,000. The filings cover media placement and production, direct mail, text messaging and digital advertising.
The $551,425 total reflects the filings grouped in the Sept. 24 report by Inside Political Money. The FEC’s current Davis results also list a separate $1,521 text-message expense by No Going Back PAC that was filed earlier and was not part of that reported package. That distinction is important because outside-spending totals can change as committees submit additional 24- and 48-hour reports.
The filings record independent expenditures rather than candidate-committee spending. The FEC entries identify whether each expense supported or opposed a candidate, as well as the payee, purpose and expenditure date.
Sources
- Inside Political Money filing analysis
- Federal Election Commission records for Don Davis
- Federal Election Commission records for Laurie Buckhout
Photo Credit: U.S. House of Representatives, public domain (Don Davis, 2022); Laurie Buckhout for Congress Media Kit (Laurie Buckhout). Adapted by cropping and placing side by side with matched face scale and eye level; no facial alteration.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.