Democratic Congressman Don Davis is considered one of the most endangered incumbents in the country this year, after state lawmakers redrew his 1st Congressional District boundaries to make it more Republican. But some polls show Davis still has a lead over Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout. So why is Davis so hard to beat, and why has he previously outperformed fellow Democrats in northeastern North Carolina?

Davis joined Colin Campbell on the WUNC Politics Podcast after an event in Williamston, where he was celebrating a new federally funded ladder truck at the local fire department. He spoke about his moderate record in Congress and his work to secure resources for Eastern North Carolina. WUNC News requested an interview with Buckhout, but her campaign did not agree to speak with us.

Democrats are hoping to pick up seats in the legislature this year to bolster Gov. Josh Stein’s vetoes, but to expand their margins, they’ll have to defend seats they flipped two years ago. That includes House District 32 in Vance and Granville counties north of the Triangle. The race is a rematch from 2024, when Democrat Bryan Cohn defeated Republican Frank Sossamon by just 228 votes. Sossamon had unseated another Democrat two years earlier.

This year’s race features unique issues like the future of the area’s water supply. Both candidates are touting their records from two years in Raleigh. WUNC News' Colin Campbell spent a day in Oxford and spoke with each of the candidates about a race that could help determine the legislature's balance of power.

There's only one seat on the N.C. Supreme Court on this November's ballot, and while the outcome won't change the partisan makeup of the state's highest court, it could help determine whether Democrats have a shot at retaking the court majority in 2028.

Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat seeking a second eight-year term, faces Republican Sarah Stevens, who recently stepped down from the N.C. House after 17 years in the legislature, including several terms as speaker pro tem. The two candidates have differing views on the appropriate role of the court and recent moves by the court's GOP majority to overturn past decisions on voter ID, redistricting and education funding. Earls and Stevens each spoke to WUNC News' Colin Campbell about the race, the issues and their legal backgrounds.