Longtime Outer Banks politician Sen. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck, has launched a campaign to represent northeastern North Carolina at the federal level.
“I’m proud to announce that I am running for the United States Congress and the 1st congressional seat of the great state of North Carolina,” Hanig said Wednesday morning on “Talk of the Town” with Henry Hinton, a radio show on TALK 96.3 & 103.7 FM and streamed YouTube. He made the announcement on his website and social media, as well.
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Hanig is running for the state’s 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, which covers Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Edgecombe, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, Vance, Warren, Washington, Wayne and Wilson counties.
So far, Hanig’s only opponent in the Republican primaries being held in March 2026 is Rocky Mount’s two-term mayor, Sandy Roberson. The winner of that race will face in the November 2026 election the incumbent Congressman Don Davis, a Democrat serving his second term representing the district, if Davis goes uncontested.
Hanig decided to run because “more people in North Carolina need someone that’s going to fight for their constituents and the ‘America First agenda,’ and we don’t have it,” he told Hinton, referring to the Trump administration’s plans under the reconciliation act passed in June.
Hanig is an Army veteran and small business owner in his second term in the North Carolina Senate. He represents District 1’s Bertie, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Tyrrell counties until his term ends Dec. 31, 2026. Before becoming a senator, Hanig served two terms in the state House and as chairman for the Currituck County Board of Commissioners.
In a statement from his campaign Wednesday morning, Hanig said he is a “proven leader who has always been a fierce advocate for my constituents and our shared values and beliefs. I will continue that fight when I get to Washington. I believe in President Trump’s America First Agenda and my record in the legislature backs it up. I’ve cut taxes for North Carolina families, toughened border control in the state, stood up for life, and defended our Second Amendment rights.”
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Hanig said during the radio interview with Hinton that he had decided to run before his very public fight against a proposed bill that would prevent shrimp trawling in state waters a few months ago.
“I love eastern North Carolina, and this is my home. These are my people. I’m blessed to do what I do. Serving in the General Assembly has been an absolute honor, privilege and just opportunity in the lifetime,” he said, adding what he thinks he’s learned from serving as a county commissioner and in the House and Senate “has brought me to this point, and I’m ready to move on to the next level and really give northeast North Carolina what they deserve, which is good leadership to protect our values, our heritage and our way of life.”
