ALBEMARLE — In a redrawn Eighth District, North Carolina’s most competitive U.S. congressional race resulted in a victory for Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, who will represent Stanly County in Washington, DC, for a fifth time.
Receiving 53.3% of the total votes, Hudson’s 201,457 votes were enough to surpass his challenger, Democrat Patricia Timmons-Goodson, who picked up 176, 221 votes (46.7%). Within Stanly County, Hudson defeated Timmons-Goodson handily with 75.4% of the county’s votes, where he garnered an even 25,000 compared to his opponent’s 8,145.
On the night of Nov. 3, Hudson addressed a crowd of his supporters in Concord and thanked Timmons-Goodson for running a strong campaign.
“I am honored and humbled for the opportunity to continue serving our community,” Hudson said in an official press release. “As I vowed during this campaign, I will work for everyone in our community and continue focusing on priorities including rebuilding our economy and improving health care.”
Hudson is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and currently sits as the Agriculture Policy Group chair.
“As Fort Bragg’s congressman, I will also continue to work every day for our veterans, our troops and their families,” said Hudson, a 49-year-old Concord resident who assumed office in 2013 and once worked as an aide to former GOP Rep. Robin Hayes.
In 2018, Hudson defeated Democrat challenger Frank McNeill with 55.3% of the votes for the 8th District.
However, due to a court-ordered redistricting in 2019 that changed the official map of the district, pollsters successfully predicted a tighter race in 2020. The district, which now stretches from Cabarrus to Cumberland counties, includes all of Cumberland County and now excludes its previous share of Rowan County — a county where Hudson won 76% of the vote in 2018.
But while Hudson’s 2020 reelection bid was his tightest to date, he was still able to hold his seat.
In Cabarrus County, Hudson won 64,267 votes (55.9%) and Timmons-Goodson recorded 50,639 votes (44.1%). That edge was enough to counteract some of the deficits from Cumberland County, a more urban county that includes Fayetteville, where Timmons-Goodson won 84,667 votes (59%) and Hudson was held to only 58,936 votes (41%).
During Hudson’s latest campaign, he raised $3.7 million, spent over $3.2 million and had around $925,000 in cash on hand, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
That same nonpartisan research group reported that Timmons-Goodson, a 66-year-old Fayetteville native who became the first black woman on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2006, raised $3.3 million, spent $3 million, and had about $285,000 in cash on hand.
“I am proud of the effort we put together,” Timmons-Goodson said on her social media accounts on Nov. 4. “We ran a strong campaign and gave the voters the information they needed to make an informed choice and they have spoken. I wish Representative Hudson well in his next term.”