CURRITUCK COUNTY, N.C. — After newly drawn maps across the Tar Heel state, voters in Northeastern North Carolina will soon be voting in one of the state's most tightly contested congressional races, with a Republican nomination on the line on Super Tuesday.
The district, covering a sprawling 22 counties, was redrawn to include Currituck and Camden counties after previously aligning with the other Outer Banks localities in District 3 since 2022.
North Carolina's District 1 has been held by a Democrat since the 1880's.
The candidates looking to unseat Rep. Don Davis include a familiar face to the race and a candidate who hopes to re-energize the district.
The retired Army Colonel hopes her decades of military experience as a combat commander propels her to the nomination next Tuesday.
Originally born near the Shenandoah region of Virginia, Buckhout retired to the Edenton area after her active duty service, where she started a "strategic consulting and services group specializing in Electronic Warfare and Cyberspace Operations."
“I know how dangerous small business can be, how risky it is and I know the role of government doesn’t make that easier. So I'm a big proponent of small government and letting businesses thrive," Buckhout told 13News Now.
She adds that she's invested more than $1 million of her own dollars toward the campaign, as a sign that she's a serious contender for the nomination.
Buckhout's priorities include border security, lower cost of living and veterans issues. She is pro-life and a defender of the Second Amendment.
“I was in Iraq and got to see when a populous is disarmed. I've traveled around the world and seen totalitarianism, so I understand gun control from an intimate point of view," she said.
She has pushed back on Smith's claims that Buckhout is the more "moderate" of the two candidates.
“I’m a rock-solid conservative; I've got the voting record for it. I've lived that conservative life. It’s a ridiculous accusation, and I think it’s like throwing mud to see what sticks," she said.
The familiar face to the race, Smith is hoping the redrawn congressional boundaries will push her over the finish line in her third run for this seat.
"I ran twice before under two different gerrymandered Democratic stronghold districts," Smith said, contending that had she produced the same voter turnout under the current map parameters she would be a sitting congresswoman.
Smith has been the GOP nominee since 2020, losing first to G.K. Butterfield and then Rep. Davis in 2022. A nomination this year would set up a rematch between the two.
Smith's stances on conservative issues are largely similar to those of Buckhou's, listing her top priorities as being pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, border security and election integrity.
“When they [voters] nominate a moderate, more lukewarm Republican [alleging of Buckhout] they go on to lose in the general election every single time," she told 13News Now.
Smith also called Rep. Davis a "weak Democrat", and pointed to Buckhout's recent retirement to the area instead of being born in North Carolina.