A lackluster response to North Carolina flooding disasters is eroding Republican support in one county

Voters in Dare County, North Carolina, are frustrated by repeated flooding and road closures on the Outer Banks, even as the county is expected to stay Republican in a congressional contest that has become the most expensive in U.S. history, at more than $52 million. Aida Havel, a county commission candidate who lives on Hatteras Island, says residents feel stranded. Highway 12 is out again, and a trip that once took 45 minutes now means a ferry crossing and hours of driving. Havel says canceled fishing tournaments and lost off-season income are hurting the whole local economy. On October 22, FEMA announced a $101 million relief package for the state, partly to fund demolition of precarious beach houses, but the shoreline keeps retreating more than 15 feet a year and no long-term plan exists, according to The Guardian.

The district's incumbent is Democrat Don Davis, who faces Republican Laurie Buckhout again after beating her by about 6,300 votes in 2024. Legislators redrew the map to move Black voters out of reliably Democratic counties and add rural Republicans, shifting the district from a one-point to roughly a ten-point Republican advantage. Local Republicans Craig Jones and Hunter Hicks both expect conservatives to carry Dare.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →