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U.S. House · North Carolina's 1st District

Tom Bailey

CandidateLIB

Race
U.S. House · North Carolina's 1st District
Result
Donald Davis, projected winner
Opponents
Donald Davis (D); Laurie Buckhout (R)
Research
Basic

Party linenone

No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.

Said vs. did0 statements · 0 votes

Tom Bailey, a Libertarian Party activist and Vietnam veteran who has worked on ballot access and election law, lost the November 3, 2026 election for North Carolina's 1st Congressional District to Don Davis. He is a longtime Libertarian activist.[1][2]

On the ballotU.S. House · 1

2026-11-03

Donald Davis Dincumbent
Laurie Buckhout Rchallenger
Tom Bailey LIBchallenger

Advanced from a canceled Libertarian Party primary.

Biography

Tom Bailey, a Libertarian Party activist and Vietnam veteran who has worked on ballot access and election law, lost the November 3, 2026 election for North Carolina's 1st Congressional District to Don Davis. He is a longtime Libertarian activist.[1][2]

Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.

Tom Bailey served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1971, according to his Ballotpedia survey, and earned a high school diploma from South Bakersfield High School and a degree from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington in 1993.[2]

Bailey says he has managed and supported numerous local and state campaigns and has spent decades supporting ballot access and constitutional governance in North Carolina.[2] He has served on the Libertarian Party of North Carolina Executive Committee and as chairman of its Legal Action Committee, where he helped lead the federal ballot-access lawsuit McLoughlin v. Marsh.[2] He ran as a Libertarian for U.S. House in North Carolina's 13th District in 2018 and in the 1st District in 2024, losing both general elections; the 2026 race was his third congressional run.[2] In his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey, he listed protecting individual liberty, election integrity and limiting taxation among his priorities.[2] He received 3.2% of the vote to Don Davis's 50.1%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]

In their own words

Priorities

  • Restoring voting rights of citizens to put control of government back in the hands of the people.[3]
  • Major federal tax reform limiting the federal government to taxing only state governments.[3]
  • Restoring the Bill of Rights with an emphasis on due process.[3]

Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.

Profile: /people/tom-bailey

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Sources cited in this profile

  1. 1.U.S. House North Carolina's 1st District results 2026 · NBC News News report
  2. 2.Tom Bailey - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026 Candidate's own words
  3. 3.Tom Bailey - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026 Candidate's own words