🚨 Don Davis Exposed for Taking Taxpayer Money to Skip Work
Do-nothing Don Davis was just exposed for taking thousands of taxpayer dollars to skip work. As a member of the North Carolina State Senate, Davis received his full per diem for nearly two weeks’ worth of missed votes.
When pressed about ripping off hardworking North Carolina taxpayers, Davis couldn’t come up with anything to say. Pathetic.
“Don Davis ripped off taxpayers for years and can’t find the courage to answer for his corruption. Eastern North Carolinians deserve better.” – NRCC Spokesman Reilly Richardson
Read more from The Center Square here or see excerpts below:
Election 2026: Davis gives no answer for his per diem takes
Alan Wooten
The Center Square
March 22, 2026
A former North Carolina state senator received full per diem on nearly two dozen days he missed all votes, got another four-figure check after having been sworn into Congress, and chose silence for explanation to an investigation by The Center Square.
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Analysis by The Center Square of Davis’ per diem and voting records for six terms in the state Senate show 19 days missing all votes with per diem taken for each; $1,248 in per diems accepted the last four months of 2022 well after the final vote (July 26) of the session; and $1,352 in per diem dated in 2023 four days after being sworn into Congress.
Given multiple days to respond to The Center Square findings about the $4,576, Davis declined.
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Davis declined to answer any of six questions from The Center Square. Some were basic in nature about understanding per diem rules, others about direct occasions. He didn’t share his understanding of the law or his pattern of practice in compliance.
Davis also declined to answer if it’s acceptable on days when all votes are excused absences, or to share if he was on state legislative business, or personal, such as a death in the family, for 19 such occasions on his record. He was even given an open-ended chance to opine.
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Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation, remembers legislative leaders in years past cutting off per diem when they knew legislative business was at a standstill and there was no need to be in Raleigh.
“Most of us probably expect lawmakers to collect pay for the days when they’re actively working in a regular legislative session,” Kokai told The Center Square. “When they’re not meeting day after day and week after week, though, continued per diem payments can raise eyebrows.
State law gives lawmakers some flexibility about determining when they are eligible for this addition to their base bay. We all should hope that they decide to be frugal when choosing when to take or reject the extra money.”
March 23, 2016, is the one day of per diem waived by Davis during his six terms, according to the Office of the Legislative Librarian at the North Carolina General Assembly in response to a public records request from The Center Square.
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In his six terms in Raleigh, he had 24 days with excused absences on votes – missing all votes on 19 of those days. Davis picked up $1,976 in per diems for the 19 days he missed all votes.
Those include March 23, 2009; March 24, 2009; April 1, 2009; July 1, 2013; July 2, 2013; July 3, 2013; Sept. 4, 2013; May 31, 2014; June 24, 2019; Oct. 8, 2019; March 11, 2021; May 10, 2021; May 11, 2021; May 17, 2021; May 20, 2021; June 10, 2021; Aug. 26, 2021; June 6, 2022; June 29, 2022.
Among the votes, his constituents didn’t have a voice on those days: cooperation by lawmen with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in two different two-year sessions, each bill vetoed by former Gov. Roy Cooper; and Remove Foreign Citizens from Voting Rolls, another Cooper veto. There was an abortion policy proposal and the biogas controversy with hog farms as part of the North Carolina Farm Act.
Also, the Appropriations Act of 2014; COVID-19 relief appropriation; foster parents Bill of Rights; Safe Harbor/Human Trafficking; Tax Simplification; and in two different two-year sessions, proposals impacting the State Health Plan that serves about 750,000 state employees and retirees.
Davis also missed votes on Medicaid expansion when it seemed impossible and on the Alcoholic Beverage Control System.
As Davis campaigned for Congress in 2022, the state Senate – typical for a midterm election year – had little business scheduled, met infrequently, and had no votes after July 26. Davis’ per diem collections were $312 each (three days worth, as permitted by statute) on Aug. 4, Sept. 1, Oct. 6, Nov. 3 and Dec. 1, and $624 on Dec. 22.
His term ended Dec. 31. On Jan. 11, 2023, four days after being sworn into Congress, legislative records show him with a check cut for $1,352.
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