NC-01 GOP candidate says Laurie Buckhout made him an offer he easily refused

2024 GOP nominee for North Carolina’s 1st congressional district Laurie Buckhout told radio host Henry Hinton Wednesday morning that she’s going to jump into the 2026 GOP fray for the same House seat, which is currently held by Democrat Don Davis. (As of close-of-business Thursday the 18th, Buckhout was not listed as a filed, official candidate for the race.  The filing deadline is noon on Friday the 19th.)

Ashley-Nicole Russell, Carteret County sheriff Asa Buck, state senator Bobby Hanig, and Lenoir county commissioner Eric Rouse are currently the only Republicans officially signed up for the 1st district race.

This news comes as quite a reversal for Buckhout.  Media reports indicated that – as of May 2025 – Buckhout would not be running due to “health concerns.”

The campaign of sheriff Asa Buck issued a written statement reacting to Buckhout’s announcement on Hinton’s show:

[…] Beaufort, N.C. — Conservative Republican Congressional candidate and Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck was true to his direct approach when commenting on the announcement that Laurie Buckhout, the loser in the 2024 1st Congressional District election, was entering the race for the 2026 Republican nomination.  

“They say the definition of insanity is repeating the same losing formula again and expecting a different result, and the loser of the last election saying she’s the best choice this time is insane. But Laurie Buckhout’s behavior over the past few weeks may be the new definition of insanity. Her strange behavior in an attempt to manipulate the Republican Primary is puzzling.   She believes running for Congress is Big Business and cares more about special interest money than the people of Eastern North Carolina. That’s why she has earned the name Laurie Sellout.”

Buck was referring to Buckhout’s recent behind-the-scenes activities trying to manipulate the Republican Primary, saying it is just another example of how entrenched she is in the pay-to-play politics that have infiltrated Washington, DC.  

Buck claims that less than two weeks ago, Buckhout reached out to him on two different occasions, saying she didn’t want to run for Congress, but the White House had encouraged her and she was thrilled that Buck was running and wanted to tell the White House to support him. 

However, she said the current Carteret County Sheriff simply didn’t understand how Washington works and needed to hire a different campaign team that would be more appealing to some DC insiders. 

She told Buck running for Congress was Big Business, and there were lots of people who made money off of campaigns.   She went on to suggest he had a better chance of a White House endorsement if he hired Buckhout’s former campaign team. 

Buck told her that hiring her team made little sense, since she lost.  He went on to tell her he had confidence in his campaign team because it was based in Eastern North Carolina and understood the needs of Eastern North Carolina. Buckhout’s response was that he needed to “learn to give up control,” and once she had learned to give up control, things worked better for her with Washington.

 (On Monday, Buck visited both the White House and with Republican leadership teams and there were no concerns expressed about his campaign or his campaign team)

The day following Buckhout’s second phone call, Buck discovered that Buckhout had called another candidate in the Republican Primary, State Senator Bobby Hanig, and told him the White House was encouraging her to run, and if he would drop out of the race, she would make him her Chief of  Staff in Washington.

 “She went from telling me she had health issues and didn’t want to run, to the next day saying she was running and offering somebody a position in her mythical Congressional office if they would drop out of the race.  I was astounded,” Buck said.

(The conversation with Buckhout and the offer was confirmed to Buck by Bobby Hanig)

Sheriff Buck believes Laurie Buckhout’s strange behavior and political games only reinforce the need for some common sense in this campaign and in Congress.  

“I knew I was running against a pay-to-play politician in November, but was disappointed to find out there was another one in the Republican Primary.

Laurie Sellout couldn’t beat Don Davis last year because she cares more about the interests of the political power brokers than the citizens of Eastern North Carolina. Asa Buck is the clear, common-sense choice for Congress, and all of Laurie Sellout’s millions can’t buy this election.”