Democrats have targeted these two NC districts for millions in campaign ads
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- House Majority PAC reserved $11.2 million in North Carolina media markets this fall.
- Ager raised $746,934.75 while Edwards raised $137,315.89, per disclosures.
A Democratic super PAC announced plans this week to spend $11.2 million across three media markets in North Carolina this fall.
The planned ad buys from House Majority PAC, a political action committee that focuses on electing Democratic House members, seem to target the 1st and 11th congressional districts located in North Carolina’s far northeastern and far southwestern counties, respectively.
The super PAC told McClatchy it would invest $5.4 million in Raleigh; $4.3 million in Asheville and upstate South Carolina’s Greenville and Spartanburg; and $1.5 million in Eastern North Carolina’s Greenville and New Bern.
The Raleigh and Greenville-New Bern investments would reach much of North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, where Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill, is trying to retain his seat and faces Edenton Republican Laurie Buckhout, a former Trump administration official.
The 1st Congressional District had a brief status as North Carolina’s only swing district where voters were roughly equally likely to elect candidates from either party. The district has been led by a Democrat for more than a century. But President Donald Trump requested lawmakers in GOP-controlled states redraw congressional maps in their favor. Republicans targeted Davis’ district.
The next most vulnerable member of Congress is likely Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from Flat Rock, representing the 11th Congressional District.
At first blush, Edwards’ district looks like a solid Republican district. Voters elected Trump by 9.5 points.
The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics considers the 11th District the second-least red district in the state of those that favor Republicans, next to Davis’.
Cook Political Report ranks it as “likely Republican.”
Edwards is facing off against Jamie Ager, a fourth-generation farmer and the brother, son and grandson of state and federal lawmakers, past and present.
Ager is quite literally giving Edwards a run for his money.
In the latest campaign finance disclosure reports, Ager far outraised Edwards.
Ager raised $747,000, and has $1.1 million on hand. Edwards raised $137,000 and has $487,000 on hand.
The reservation by House Majority PAC seems to indicate that both the 1st and 11th districts could be in play for Democrats.
It’s also an increase from the total reservation of $6.1 million the group made in North Carolina during the 2024 cycle.
The $11.2 million in planned spending in North Carolina is part of a larger $272 million initial television and digital reservation the group made across 68 markets. This marks the super PAC’s largest early investment in its history. It includes $80 million in digital reservations.
It’s a sizable increase from the $40 million digital reservation made in 2024 and the combined sum of nearly $86 million for its initial reservation during that campaign. House Majority PAC told McClatchy it also increased, from its first round in 2024, its reservation in Spanish language programming 140% from its first round in 2024.
The group said the fact that nearly 80% of its reservations are in districts held by Republicans underscores its commitment to aggressively expand the House battlefield and put more seats in play.
Getting in early allows the group to secure lower rates and prioritize expensive and crowded markets.
“HMP’s historic television and digital ad reservations reflect that Democrats are firmly on offense heading into November,” the group’s president, Mike Smith, said in a written statement.
House Majority PAC added that the super PAC could expand beyond its initial list of markets.
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Democrats have targeted these two NC districts for millions in campaign ads."
