U.S. Rep. Don Davis, NC-01, is running for reelection in North Carolina's most competitive congressional district.
The Democrat is embracing centrism by also affiliating with the Forward Party.
"It's not about the parties. It's not about the labels. It's about the policy. It's about the principles, about how we're able to help families," Davis said at a virtual meeting of the North Carolina Forward Party last Thursday.
Davis is the most right-leaning Democrat in the House, according to the website GovTrack, which studies legislative behavior. GovTrack puts Davis farther right ideologically than a third of House Republicans.
The Snow Hill native was one of only 13 Democrats to win a district whose voters also picked Donald Trump for president in 2024. He said working with Republicans helps motivate disillusioned voters.
"My experiences now — you see the far left, the far right, and a lot of times you have the silent majority that's just in the middle," Davis said.
Patrick Newton, the Forward Party's state chair, said that Davis is "what we lovingly call a Forward Democrat." The congressman signed a pledge to uphold Forward Party values two months before being reelected in 2024.
"We have to have a new model. People see through this. We have to see more authenticity in our politics," Davis said. "So many people have felt left out of the process because they see the parties just throwing bombs at each other, just attacking each other nonstop."
The Forward Party aims to become a centrist force in American politics, forcing Democrats and Republicans to work together. It was cofounded by Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur who ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, and retired Republican politician Christine Todd Whitman, a former New Jersey governor and U.S. EPA administrator under George W. Bush.
The party is currently petitioning for the right to place candidates on the ballot in North Carolina by 2026.
"North Carolina is going to be one of the major battlegrounds, and I believe the Forward Party North Carolina could be pivotal players in what happens next year, which is going to have national implications," Yang said Thursday during the meeting.
Republicans believe they can beat Davis in 2026, and the national party is already pouring money into attacks. Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson said he will run in the Republican primary.
Davis narrowly beat his Republican opponent, Laurie Buckhout, in 2024. Libertarian candidate Tom Bailey could have played a role, since he took 9,949 votes, more than the 6,307 by which Davis won.
