North Carolina's 1st congressional district

North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the US state. It consists of many Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the Inner Banks and the Research Triangle. It covers many rural areas of northeastern North Carolina, among the state's most economically poor, as well as outer exurbs of urbanized Research Triangle. Some of larger towns and cities in the district include Elizabeth City, Goldsboro, Henderson, Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids, and Wilson.

The first district is currently represented by Don Davis.

On February 5, 2016, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the 1st district, as well as the 12th, were gerrymandered along racial lines, which was unconstitutional, and must be redrawn by March 15, 2016. It was re-drawn again in 2019 following court-mandated redistricting, which removed portions of the Research Triangle from the district and changed it to D+3 from a D+17 on the Cook Partisan Voting Index.

Besides a brief period from 1895 until 1899 when the district was held by a Populist, the 1st district has been consistently Democratic since 1883.

On February 23, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court had approved a new map that was only used for the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections which changed the 1st district boundaries to add Chowan, Currituck, Franklin, Greene, Pasquotank, Perquimans counties and the remainder of Vance County while removing Wayne County.

On October 25, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly approved a new congressional map shifting the district's Cook Partisan Voting Index from D+2 to R+1. It is the most competitive district in North Carolina. The district was also one of 13 congressional districts that voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election while simultaneously electing a Democrat in the 2024 House of Representatives elections.

In 2025, the district was once again subject to redistricting, after the North Carolina House and Senate passed a map immune to Democratic governor Josh Stein's veto. The counties of Greene, Lenoir, Wayne, and Wilson were drawn into the new third district, with the counties of Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, and Pamlico now being placed into the first district. The district is now considered a likely pickup for Republicans in the 2026 United States House of Representatives elections.

Counties and communities

For the 120th and successive Congresses (based on the districts drawn following a 2025 legislative session), the district will contain all or portions of the following counties and communities.

Beaufort County (11)

All eleven communities

Bertie County (8)

All eight communities

Camden County (3)

All three communities

Carteret County (18)

All eighteen communities

Craven County (13)

All thirteen communities

Chowan County (4)

All four communities