Laurie Buckhout

Laurie Buckhout was born in Virginia and lives in Edenton, North Carolina, with her husband Paul, a retired Army officer; they have two sons, according to her campaign website.[2][3] She earned a bachelor's degree from James Madison University, a master's of military arts and science in national military strategy, and a master's of science in information management from Webster University.[2][8]

Buckhout was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps in 1984 and served 26 years, retiring as a colonel in 2010; according to a candidate-supplied biography, she commanded a task force in the initial attack into Iraq in 2003.[2][8][5] After retiring from the Army, she founded Corvus Consulting, which specialized in electronic warfare and cyberspace operations; it was sold to Castellum Inc. in 2019, according to SIGNAL Media.[2][8][5] She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy and was later named acting Assistant Secretary of War for cyber policy by President Trump.[3][4][5]

Buckhout was the Republican nominee in 2024 and lost the general election to Davis.[4][5] She won the March 3, 2026 Republican primary over Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, 23,531 votes to 20,974.[4] During the campaign, she emphasized lowering costs, securing the border and strengthening national defense, and her campaign described her as a "constitutional conservative."[2][3][4][5] She received 46.8% of the vote to Don Davis's 50.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]