STAFF REPORT

With newly drawn congressional maps keeping his district leaning safely Republican, U.S. Richard Hudson announced this week he will seek re-election.

Hudson, who lives in Southern Pines, represents District 9, which extends as far north as the Guilford-Rockingham County line and as far south as the Hoke-Robeson county line. The district includes all of Moore, Randolph, Hoke and Alamance counties and parts of Chatham, Cumberland and Guilford counties.

A Republican, Hudson was first elected to Congress in 2013. He already has amassed a solid campaign fund, with $2.1 million cash on hand. He reported raising $540,000 in the last quarter alone.

“As your Congressman, I am proud to have worked alongside President Donald Trump to make America the most prosperous and safe country on Earth,” said Hudson. “But Joe Biden’s failed leadership is destroying all of that work. I want to continue fighting for our men and women in uniform, veterans, parents’ rights, farmers, the Second Amendment, and small businesses.

“You can also count on me to stand up to out-of-control spending and the failed policies of President Biden that have made us less safe, less prosperous and less free.

“I look forward to remaining the Sandhills’ Congressman and again earning the support of the people of the 9th District.”

Hudon is also chairman of the powerful National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to raise money across the country to elect Republicans to the U.S. House. Normally, that post would be fourth in line to be Speaker of the House, but recent turmoil among House Republicans trying to appoint a new Speaker after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy upset long established leadership notions. Hudson’s name did not surface as a speaker candidate.

https://www.thepilot.com/news/hudson-announces-reelection-bid-for-congress/article_edbaaf88-74b0-11ee-88cb-f3a611ceba92.html

The Carolina Journal

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-NC, was elected Tuesday to lead the National Republican Congressional Committee. A news release from Hudson says his new role makes him the highest-ranking Republican member of Congress from North Carolina in history. 

“I am honored by the unanimous support of my colleagues to lead the NRCC,” said Hudson in a press release Tuesday. “The American people have just entrusted House Republicans with a majority to be the last line of defense in stopping the disastrous Biden administration and saving our country from out-of-control spending, inflation, energy prices, crime, and an open southern border. Working together with our leadership team and entire conference, I am confident we can build on our successes and learn from missed opportunities to expand our majority in 2024.”

This position also places Hudson fourth in line to the Speakership. 

Hudson was first elected to the U.S. House in 2012 and won re-election last week by defeating Democrat challenger Ben Clark by 56.7% percent to 43.3%. He was first elected to House Republican leadership as Conference Secretary in the 117th Congress.

Hudson’s election comes as Republicans in the U.S. House vote on leadership this week. In what sources told Reuters was a 188-31 vote, the Republican Caucus in the U.S. House elected Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to be the next speaker and Steve Scalise, R-La., to be the next Majority Leader. 

Late Tuesday Republican Kevin Kiley in California’s third congressional district was projected to win his race, pushing Republicans over the 2018 seat threshold to be the majority party in the House. That race has not been officially called as of Wednesday morning, along with another nine races across the country where ballots are still being counted.

by: Russ Bowen

CBS17.com

Posted: Nov 16, 2022

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Ready to tackle inflation and fresh off winning a sixth term in congress, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R) says his top priority is inflation and funding for veteran services. 

He has represented North Carolina’s District 8 since 2013, which includes Fort Bragg.

“Going into this winter, I’m really worried about folks having to make tough decisions between heating their homes and food and medicine,” said Hudson.

Republicans will have a narrow majority in the U.S. House while Democrats control the Senate and the White House. Will a GOP legislative agenda see the end of President Biden’s pen? 

“I’m actually optimistic. I think you can get a lot of big things done in divided government because you get to share the blame as well as sharing the credit,” Hudson said.

In his next term, Hudson will be the highest-ranking Republican member of congress from North Carolina in history. 

He was also just voted to chair the National Republican Congressional Committee. That brings with it a powerful voice from our state. One that will have to be heard as a voice of compromise across the aisle to get anything done. 

“I’m hopeful that we can get a compromise that secures the border with the President. I think on energy there are some philosophical differences. I think there’s plenty of room to compromise if we could focus on what’s actually going to have an impact on the environment rather than just targeting fossil fuels,” said Hudson.

Americans have not forgotten the lack of readiness for the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s another topic Hudson believes both sides can agree on.  

“I’m also the Republican lead on pandemic preparedness and we’ve got a big authorization that has to be done by the end of September and so I think there’s a lot of work on preparing for the next pandemic that we can do in a bi-partisan way,”  he said.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/your-local-election-hq/richard-hudson-hopeful-optimistic-heading-into-his-6th-term-as-nc-congressman/

By Jonathan Bym

The Pilot

Nov 8, 2022 

Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson was re-elected to a sixth term representing the 9th Congressional District, with all but 12 precincts still out as of 10:15 p.m., according to complete, but unofficial returns announced late Tuesday evening.

Hudson claimed the congressional seat by a more than 30,000-vote margin over Democratic challenger Ben Clark, securing 56.7 percent of the vote.

“Renee and I appreciate the outpouring of support throughout this campaign and I am honored for the opportunity to continue serving our community” said Rep. Hudson in a statement following the results being complete. “I now look forward to following through on our ‘Commitment to America’ to work towards an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable. As Fort Bragg’s Congressman, I will also continue to work every day for our veterans, our troops and their families.”

After Moore County was split between Hudson’s former 8th congressional district and the 9th district last election, Moore was fully encompassed in the 9th congressional district for this election, along with Cumberland, Lee, Richmond, Scotland, Harnett, Chatham and Randolph counties.

Hudson relocated from Concord to Southern Pines to represent the 9th district and continue to remain Fort Bragg’s representative in Congress.

In Moore County, Hudson garnered more than 66 percent of the vote with all 26 precincts reporting for this race at press time.

Hudson returns to Washington after serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee last term.

During the campaign Hudson said that inflation, gas prices and safety were his areas of focus when returning to Capitol Hill for the next term. In the past, he has supported millions of dollars in federal investments to North Carolina for roads, airports, broadband access and other infrastructure.

Hudson touts the “Commitment to America” plan that House Republicans are looking to implement for the next term.

“Our plan includes common-sense measures we can begin implementing right away like cutting spending, boosting American energy production, securing the border, hiring more police officers, and protecting our constitutional freedoms like the Second Amendment,” Hudson said during his campaign

Former State Sen. Clark, who is from Fayetteville and currently lives in Raeford, had previously represented a pocket of Moore County in the state senate before making his run for a congressional seat

The Moore County Board of Elections can still accept and count ballots until Nov. 12 if they are postmarked by 5 p.m. Nov. 3.

The Moore County Board of Elections is currently scheduled to review and approve final election results Friday, Nov. 13.

https://www.thepilot.com/news/hudson-re-elected-for-sixth-term-to-congress/article_2acaa202-5fdb-11ed-8239-63504120cbe6.html

By William R. Toler

The Richmond Observer

ROCKINGHAM — Congressman Richard Hudson defeated three challengers in Tuesday’s Republican primary election for the 9th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Records from the North Carolina Board of Elections show Hudson carried more than 70% of every county in the newly drawn district, which now comprises Scotland, Hoke, Lee, Chatham and Randolph counties in addition to northwest Cumberland, western Harnett and a sliver of eastern Richmond.

“I am grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support shown to me tonight,” Hudson said in a statement released Tuesday night. “Renee and I look forward to the work ahead earning the chance to represent all people in our community for the next two years. Under one-party rule, the country is on the wrong track. But together, we can restore common sense, conservative leadership.”

Hudson received 383 votes in Richmond County — 156 from one-stop early voting and one from an absentee ballot — for 86.85% of the vote, according to the Richmond County Board of Elections. Overall, Hudson garnered 37,972 votes.

Even with Fort Bragg in the district, Hudson beat out Army veteran Francisco Rios of Charlotte, who was stationed at the base while in the 82nd Airborne Division.

Records show Rios had 1,866 votes throughout the district — the fewest of all the candidates.

Asheboro’s Jen Bucardo had the second-highest number of votes overall with 4,153 and performed the best in her home county of Randolph with 12.8% of the vote there.

The other challenger, Mike Adriani of Fayetteville, had 3,931 total votes, pulling in 11.95% in Chatham County, 8.17% in Lee, 11.77% in Harnett, 9.61% in Hoke, 8.49% in Cumberland, 7.08% in Scotland and 8.16% in Richmond.

Hudson, who has represented Richmond County in the past, and Rios both live outside the district.Advertisements

The U.S. Constitution allows for members of the U.S. House of Representatives to not live in the district they represent. During a special election several years ago for the 9th District, half of the 10 Republicans in the primary were outside the district.

Hudson will go on to face state Sen. Ben Clark, D-Hoke.

According to the biography on Clark’s campaign website, he was born at Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg to a helicopter pilot and teacher and raised in Fayetteville with his two siblings, graduating from Seventy-First High School.

Clark studied industrial technology at N.C. A&T University, where he was also in the ROTC program. He joined the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant and retired 20 years later as a lieutenant colonel.

Clark has been elected to five terms in the N.C. Senate and his district includes Hoke and part of Cumberland County.

When legislative maps were finally approved late last year, Richmond County was split between the 8th and 9th districts.

Rep. Dan Bishop faced no challengers in the primary for the 8th District and has no competition from the Democratic or Libertarian parties in November.

The 8th District includes the western two-thirds of Richmond, Anson, Union, Montgomery, Stanly, Davidson, Rowan and eastern Cabarrus.

Hudson wins 9th District GOP primary, will face Clark in November

Dean-Paul Stephens

The Courier-Tribune

May 3, 2022

A number of conservative issues were front and center at Monday’s political luncheon which featured talks by Congressional representative Richard Hudson. 

Hudson, along with public officials, candidates, and dozens of concerned citizens made the trip to Asheboro’s The Table Restaurant for the luncheon put on by the Faith and Freedom Coalition. a North Carolina-based political action group. 

For Hudson, the incumbent for the District 9 race, the event served as an additional opportunity to get to know the people in his district before the elections later this year. 

“I’m so blessed that I get to earn your votes and be your Congressman, here,” Hudson said, alluding to the months-long battle over North Carolina Congressional map. “I’m thrilled the way it worked out.” 

Hudson’s talk emphasized a number of conservative issues including abortion, the supreme court, and the importance of mid-term elections, among others. 

“I’m proud to work with you and be associated with you, the work you do matters,” Hudson said before moving on to one of the luncheon’s main topics of discussion. 

“Despite all the things that are happening in this country, we are winning a few battles,” Hudson said before mentioning the Hyde Amendment, legislation that prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion services. “We are able to achieve some things but, overall, we need a lot more pro-life people in Congress.” 

Hudson’s comments come in the midst of Roe v. Wade’s relitigation in the Supreme Court. Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court case that established abortion as a constitutional medical procedure. 

Since then, rolling back abortion access or outright eliminating the legal precedent established by the 1973 case has been a goal of pro-life lawmakers. 

Hudson, who first joined Congress in 2013, talked about the difficulties of being a lawmaker. He talked about, what is widely perceived as, Congressional dysfunction. 

“It is a mess in Congress right now,” Hudson said. “The question I get a lot when I’m on the street is ‘how do you go to Washington and deal with that?'” 

Hudson said his faith plays a large part in the work that he does. He added that he regrets politics becoming as divisive as they have. 

He said that ultimately, despite political differences, the country is stronger when everyone focuses on what makes us similar.

“We are indivisible as a country,” Hudson said. “We’ve been strong and we’ve been so successful because we’ve been so indivisible.” 

https://www.courier-tribune.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.courier-tribune.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2022%2F05%2F03%2Fcongressman-visits-asheboro-ahead-primary-election-may-17-campaign-stop-abortion%2F9619094002%2F

By MARK ROGERS

Sanford Herald

April 30, 2022

Congressman Richard Hudson spent time last week meeting constituents in Lee and surrounding counties, talking about a variety of topics from the newly drawn Congressional districts to inflation and the war in the Ukraine.

After addressing Lee County Republicans at their headquarters on Steele Street April 22, Hudson stopped by The Sanford Herald to talk about a variety of topics.

“I have seven counties in my current district,” Hudson said. “Three of them are in the new 8th District and four of them in the new 9th District — including Fort Bragg. The greatest honor in my life is representing Fort Bragg. That was one of the reasons why I chose this end of the district — to represent the new 9th District, which includes all of Lee County.”

The new district includes nine counties.

“Four of them I currently represent, four I have represented in the past, and then I’ve never represented Chatham County before,” Hudson said. “We’ve been spending a lot of time getting to know the folks over there.”

As he’s traveled the district, several major things are on people’s minds — inflation, gas prices and the war in Ukraine are all topics constituents ask Hudson about.

“When I was in middle school, I learned about supply and demand,” Hudson said. “When you have a high demand and a low supply, prices go up. This is very basic fundamental economic principle. When it comes to gas prices, we have an abundance of energy resources here in America, but Joe Biden’s energy policies are preventing us from going and getting them.”

Hudson went on to explain issues involving gas prices.

“Most of the price of gas in America is driven by the futures market,” he said. “So, investors make predictions based on what they think the future looks like. There are two markets, the U.S. market and the global market. The U.S. market investors see Joe Biden cancel the (Keystone) XL Pipeline on Day 1, they see him restrict exploration on federal land — they see all these moves and they say, ‘Oh, prices are going to go up,’ so they make predictions based on that. By doing that, they make price go up. If Joe Biden would reverse them — even the XL Pipeline, I think it would have an impact on the futures markets and we’d see prices go down right away. Even before the oil got to the market.”

Hudson said the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has had little impact on price.

“Those futures investors really drive the price, and those futures investors see him (Biden) do that (release) and they realize that’s a temporary fix — that’s not changing the fundamentals that led them to believe prices are going to be high for a while because supply is down and demand is up,” Hudson said.

Oil prices have a big effect on the economy, but they aren’t the only factor, according to Hudson.

“Gas prices are spilling over into inflation, but the biggest driver of inflation now is the out-of-control spending,” he said. “We’ve borrowed and spent $7.5 trillion — if you look at everything the House has passed. To put that into layman’s terms, you could spend $10 million a day from the day Jesus was born until today — and that’s $7.5 trillion — that’s a lot of money. It’s not sustainable.”

Hudson said the war in Ukraine has also been on the minds of constituents as he’s traveled the district.

“I don’t support American combat troops going into Ukraine in any way, shape or form, but I do support sending troops to the region as a deterrent,” Hudson said. “I support doing anything we can to send lethal weapons and supplies to Ukraine. In fact, I’ve been advocating that since 2015. We fought Obama over it — he wouldn’t send lethal aid. Trump was sending it, but Biden stopped it when he took office. All last year, a bunch of us were begging the president — pleading with him to send this aid. It’s only really since the invasion that we’ve really started what we need to do to supply them.”

Hudson said border concerns are also on the minds of people in the district and that he’s had a lot of good discussions with people throughout the region recently, spending the Easter recess traveling and speaking with them.

“I’ve had a chance to talk to a lot of people and people are frustrated with the direction the country’s headed in,” he said. “They’re really keen to see Republicans get in control — some not even because they like Republicans. Some just want to stop what they see happening. I actually heard more about the Southern border than I thought I might. It’s certainly been a priority for me.”

Hudson said more than two million people have illegally crossed the border recently.

“That’s more than the population of Charlotte, Greensboro and Fayetteville combined,” he said. “That’s a ton of people. I’m concerned about what criminals are coming across, what terrorists are coming across. We know of a number of terrorists that we’ve caught at the border.”

Hudson said another major concern is illegal drugs coming across the border.

“I’m worried about fentanyl,” he said. “It’s impacting every community in America. We’ve confiscated this year, enough fentanyl to kill every American seven times.”