The highest-ranking North Carolina Republican in U.S. Congress history lost his bid for an eighth consecutive term on Tuesday, flipping a district that was once considered safe for the GOP.
Democratic candidate Richard Ojeda defeated incumbent Richard Hudson in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, which runs from Cumberland County in the south to Guilford County in the north.
Hudson is the current chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of House Republicans. In recent days, Hudson started advertising on television, a sign that he was facing a stiff challenge in a district that he won by nearly 20 percentage points in 2024.
Ojeda is a retired U.S. Army major who served in the West Virginia State Senate before unsuccessfully seeking the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race in 2020.
"I lost a lot of friends in a war sold on a lie, and I’m going to Congress to make sure nobody’s kid gets sent to another one. I’m going to fight to lower drug prices, protect Social Security and the VA, and get corporate money out of our politics. This district gave a kid from the West Virginia coal fields a chance, and I will never forget it," Ojeda said in a statement.
With all 169 precincts counted early Wednesday morning, Ojeda led the race by a margin of 138,707 votes to 132,692 votes for Hudson.
Amy Dorra, Ojeda's campaign manager, remarked on the longshot nature of the his victory in a district that many election experts had once considered solid or safely Republican.
"Nobody in Washington thought this seat was in play. Our volunteers never bought that for a second,” Dorra said.
All results are unofficial until the statewide canvass on Friday, Nov. 13.
