Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the GOP’s House campaign arm, conceded his race for reelection, he confirmed in a statement shortly after POLITICO reported the decision.
The AP has not yet called the race. But the decision is a stark sign of just how far the country shifted left: The person responsible for getting House Republicans elected this cycle is accepting defeat in a district President Donald Trump carried by almost 16 points just two years ago.
He called Democrat Richard Ojeda to concede, Hudson said in the statement, which thanked his staff, constituents and family.
“Last night, the voters of North Carolina’s 9th District made their choice, and I respect it,” Hudson wrote. “God is sovereign over my life, and He has a plan for all of us.”
“America is the greatest country, and I believe more than ever in the principles that make us great,” Hudson continued. “Whatever the future holds, I will keep fighting for those principles and for the people who believe in commonsense, conservative policies that will save our country and make the lives of the American people better.”
This would be the first time ever a chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee has lost in a general election. In 1992, the NRCC chair lost in a primary. North Carolina Republicans felt the pressure leading up to Election Day, with worries about a massive win by Roy Cooper in the Senate race likely endangering a slew of once safely red House seats like Hudson’s and others.
Ojeda, a veteran who lost a Senate race in West Virginia in 2020, was drastically outspent by Hudson. But in a sign that Democrats thought they could flip the seat, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw $130,000 behind Ojeda last week.
