Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has lost his North Carolina House seat, with the Associated Press calling the race for Democrat Richard Ojeda. The outcome in North Carolina's 9th District marks a significant flip, as the seat has not been held by a Democrat since 1963.
Hudson, who has chaired the NRCC since 2023, lost by approximately 6,000 votes, with all precincts reporting. He conceded the race on Wednesday, his 55th birthday.
Ojeda, a retired Army major and former West Virginia state senator, celebrated the victory on social media, stating, "WE JUST UNSEATED THE CHAIR OF THE NRCC." This loss for Hudson comes after he won the district by more than 18 points two years prior, during a period when President Trump carried the area by about 16 points.
Hudson is the second consecutive party campaign chief to lose their own race in the midterms. In 2022, then-DCCC chair Sean Patrick Maloney lost his Hudson Valley seat to Republican Mike Lawler.