Rep. Hudson visits Hamlet roots ahead of run for District 9 seat
Gavin Stone, Richmond County Daily Journal
HAMLET — Congressman Richard Hudson made a stop in Hamlet on Thursday to visit his family’s former stomping grounds and share some of his focuses going into the campaign season.
Hudson, a Republican, previously represented Richmond County from 2013 to 2015 prior to a redrawing of the maps in 2016. The latest version of North Carolina’s congressional map has Richmond County split between districts 8 and 9, which is apparently the first time in the county’s history that it has had two representatives, according to a historical record of U.S. Congressional District shapes maintained by UCLA.
Richmond County’s current U.S. Congressman, Rep. Dan Bishop, opted to run for the newly drawn District 8, which includes all of Union, Anson, Montgomery, Stanly, Rowan and Davidson counties, with the eastern portion of Cabarrus County and the western two-thirds of Richmond County. Hudson currently represents District 8 which — until November — stretches from Cumberland to Cabarrus, just above Richmond, and is running for the newly drawn District 9, which includes Hamlet, Dobbins Heights and Hoffman in Richmond County, as well as Moore, Scotland, Hoke, Lee, Chatham, Randolph, and parts of Harnett and Cumberland counties.
Hudson will face three other Republicans in the upcoming primary — Mike Andriani, Jennyfer Bucardo, and Francisco Rios — and the winner will face Democrat Ben Clark in November.
Though it’s been a few years since Hudson has been on the ballot in Richmond County, his connections go much deeper. His grandfather, J.F. Watson, worked for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad — with an office on the second floor of the Hamlet Depot — for 32 years before retiring as the roadmaster in Roanoke Rapids. His mother lived in Hamlet as a young child, and his uncle, R.L. “Riley” Watson was born in the city.
Hudson was born in Franklin, VA but grew up in Charlotte, and currently resides in Concord (congressional representatives are not constitutionally required to live in the district they represent, just the same state). He worked on Rep. Robin Hayes’s staff for six years, and during that time was involved in local projects including securing grants to turn the Imperial Foods ruins into a memorial park, and in the early 2000s was involved in getting the Hamlet Depot moved 240 feet across the railroad tracks to where it currently sits.
His visit on Thursday was his first time back in Hamlet since 2015; Hudson said it was “personally painful” when the maps were redrawn in 2016 to cut Richmond County out of his jurisdiction.
“This is home to me, my roots run so deep in this community — I love this community,” he said. “I’m just thrilled that I have the opportunity to earn the votes of this community again and represent this community.”
“I feel like to do my job I’ve got to be here in the community, the community needs to know me and I need to know them,” he added. “That doesn’t mean I will always vote the same way they would have done it but they know that I’m always accessible and always listening and trying to make decisions on their behalf … so that means coming here a lot, or having my staff here when I can’t be.”
On the issues
Hudson has been an advocate for parents to be allowed to make the decision about whether their child wears masks in school, not the government. The Fayetteville Observer reported that on Feb. 11, Hudson sent a letter to Cumberland County Health Director Jennifer Green “respectfully urging” her to end the county’s mask mandate, which had outlasted the Board of Education’s vote the prior week to end the school system’s mask mandate.
He said that we should “follow the science” which he argues shows that the harm of masks on the development of kids outweighs the risks of them getting COVID-19, and that masks aren’t as effective at slowing the spread as improving ventilation and changing the arrangement of seats in the classroom.
“If you’re learning English and you can’t see the lips of your teacher, it hurts your ability to learn English. It also has harmed the emotional development of our kids because they can’t see each other, so I think the science tells us that the damage done by masks in schools is much worse than [the risks of not wearing them],” Hudson said in an interview. “[COVID-19] is not as harmful to kids, so if that changed, if a future variant was very deadly for children then I would want to follow the science and maybe we’d change something we were doing but right now the science tells us the kids don’t need that mask. My position is let the parents decide: if they want their kids wearing a mask that’s their decision.”
With rising gas prices and new questions about the country’s use of Russian oil, Hudson has advocated for President Joe Biden to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which he canceled on his first day in office, in order to help “unleash American energy.” Hudson is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and said that Biden’s decisions to continue to limit permits for drilling since his first day have limited the country’s energy supply, contributing to the situation we find ourselves in now.
“If the President were to approve [the Keystone XL pipeline] today, it’ll take at least a year to bring that oil online but it sends the signal today, to the futures market, and I think you’ll see prices go down if he’ll start making some of these smart policy decisions,” Hudson said.
Asked about the planned $63 million investment in Richmond County to build a new solar farm, Hudson said he supports “all of the above” in terms of energy, but believes that markets should be allowed to determine what is best. While solar is a positive development and creates jobs, Hudson said the issue is consistent storage of the energy produced, which isn’t as much of an issue with natural gas and nuclear energy.
“I think adding solar is good but my approach has been: let’s push technology, let’s push innovation, because once we figure out that storage problem wind and solar are going to be much better,” Hudson said.
Richard Hudson vows to fight coronavirus, support military in fifth term in Congress
John Henderson The Fayetteville Observer
After a hard-fought campaign, Congressman Richard Hudson said that during his fifth term representing the 8th District he is going to “roll up his sleeves” and address pressing issues of the district.
Among them: working to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, lowering the price of prescription drugs, and continuing the fight to bring resources to soldiers and their families at Fort Bragg, he said.
The district includes a large portion of the southern Piedmont area of the state from Concord to Spring Lake.
With all 176 precincts reporting, Hudson on Tuesday night received 201,181 votes, or 53.35%, while Democratic challenger Patricia Timmons-Goodson received 175,891 votes, or 46.65%, according to unofficial returns.
In a prepared statement, Timmons-Goodson said she is “proud of the effort we put together.
“We ran a strong campaign and gave the voters the information they needed to make an informed choice, and they have spoken. I wish Rep. Hudson well in his next term,” she said in an emailed statement.
Speaking at a victory party at the Cabarrus County Republican Party in Concord late Tuesday night, Hudson said it has been a tough campaign.
He said the national Democratic Party spent millions in the campaign trying to “lie about” his record.
“But the truth prevails,” he said. “The truth did indeed prevail.”
Looking to his next term, Hudson said he plans to continue to work across the aisle with Democrats in Washington to get things done.
“I am humbled by the confidence the voters in this community have given me,” he said. “I will always put your best interest first. But we have a lot of work left ahead of us. We’ve got to safely recover from COVID-19, deliver a vaccine to all of the workers and small businesses (that) still need help.”
Hudson said it is really a challenging time in America, “but tonight you sent a message to Washington that brighter days are ahead.”
“In this campaign, I have vowed that I will continue to work for all of the people in this district — Republicans, Democrats, unaffiliated — to rebuild the greatest economy we have ever seen in our lifetime,” he said.
Hudson said too many of America’s prescription drugs come from countries like China. He said he promises to continue working to lower the price of prescription drugs and bring their manufacturing back to America.
“I make a promise to continue to clean up our drinking water from dangerous chemicals like GenX,” he said, referring to the chemical coming from the Chemours Plant in southern Cumberland County that is considered to be a carcinogen. It has been found in drinking water wells in the Gray’s Creek area. The company has said the levels of the compound found in the drinking water are not dangerous to people’s health.
And most importantly, Hudson said, he will “continue doing everything in my power to support our veterans, to support our troops and to support our families. Being Fort Bragg’s congressman is incredible.”
During the campaign, Timmons-Goodson’s campaign irked Hudson when she ran ads saying he wasn’t doing enough to fight for veterans and Fort Bragg soldiers.
“I’ll never stop fighting for those men and women in uniform and for their incredible families,” he said.
He said veterans and their caregivers “need our support.”
“We are working together,” Hudson said. “I know we can solve these problems, and I know we can leave our community better off for my son, Lane, and for all the children out there.”
Hudson’s press secretary, Greg Steele, said Wednesday that Hudson’s commitment to fighting the coronavirus can be found in a bill that he filed last week, H.R. 14, that would provide more than $47 billion in the fight.
“Congressman Hudson said that will be the first thing to focus on, is to how to fully emerge from COVID-19,” Steele said. “That bill is going to be a big center point here, probably still in the remaining part of this Congress.”
Hudson explained his support for the bill in a news release last week.
“I’m honored to lead this effort to pass targeted solutions to combat COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemics,” Hudson said. “This bill makes important reforms to our telehealth and mental health services. These vital improvements will help our seniors and those stuck at home. It also builds on our efforts to strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile, our testing systems, and our drug supply.”
Steele said Wednesday that Hudson’s district now includes all of Cumberland County and he vows to represent every resident.
“In terms of federal races, Congressman Hudson’s vote percentage outperformed every Republican in Cumberland County,” Steele said. “And we feel that is a direct result of his commitment to working across the aisle, especially to support veterans, troops and their families at Fort Bragg.”
Steele said Hudson will continue to push the “Care for the Veteran Caregiver Act” that he filed earlier this year along with Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathleen M. Rice of New York.
“Congressman Hudson is going to keep pushing for that bill,” Steele said. “It expands stipends for caregivers and then streamlines some of the eligibility requirements.”
Hudson for Congress Campaign Virtual Press Conference
Moore County, NC – Congressman Richard Hudson, Fort Bragg’s Congressman and candidate for North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District, was joined by veterans, military families and a Gold Star Spouse today for a virtual press conference to set the record straight on Congressman Hudson’s record of supporting troops, veterans and their families. Today’s announcement follows false and misleading advertisements from the House Majority Pac and DCCC on behalf of and by Congressman Hudson’s opponent, Patricia Timmons-Goodson claiming that Congressman Hudson “skipped out” on pay raises for troops. One ad run by Nancy Pelosi’s House Majority Pac, was deemed ‘mostly false’ by CBS 17.
“Serving as Fort Bragg’s Congressman is an honor and voters, as well as our troops, veterans and their families, deserve to know the truth about my record,” said Congressman Hudson. “Claims that I skipped out on pay raises for troops are lies and do not reflect my record of helping secure critical provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act to give troops a 10% raise, increase support for military family education, and expand access to the VA for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.”
Joining Congressman Hudson today were Concord City Councilman and veteran John Sweat, retired Army Sgt. Mike Verardo who was severely wounded in action as a member of the 82nd Airborne, Michelle Black, a Gold Star Spouse of 3rd Special Forces Group Sgt. Bryan Black who was killed in action in Tongo Tongo on Oct. 4, 2017, and Army Special Forces veteran John Zumwalt. Each speaker discussed Congressman Hudson’s record serving troops, their families and veterans.
While ads being run on TV and mailed to voters claim Congressman Hudson “skipped a vote to give military families a much needed pay raise” and “turned his back on military families,” these ads fail to mention that Congressman Hudson wrote sections of the National Defense Authorization Act which awarded a pay raise to troops, a 10% increase in Hazardous Duty Pay, strengthened and expanded the Preservation of the Force and Family program for Special Forces, expanded the VA’s Burn Pit Registry for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Egypt and Syria, strengthened the Exceptional Family Member Program that supports special needs education for military families, and improved Impact Aid funding for education around military bases.
Fake News Alert: Nancy Pelosi Caught Lying About Richard Hudson
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A campaign ad attacks U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-North Carolina), for missing a vote on the annual spending bill for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Hudson is facing Democratic challenger Patricia Timmons-Goodson in the race in North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District.
CBS 17 took a closer look at some of the key claims in the ad as part of our political pledge to test the factual accuracy of public communications offered by candidates, political action committees, or partisan groups.
THE CLAIM: The ad says Hudson “skipped out on a vote to give our troops a hard-earned raise.”
THE FACTS: No one disputes that Hudson did not cast a vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395) over the summer.
But the ad, produced by the Democrats’ House Majority PAC, leaves out some critical context.
Hudson was under quarantine for COVID-19 concerns from July 9-23 after having contact with a person who tested positive for the disease. Hudson’s office provided CBS 17 with a letter from Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court, that outlines the specifics of his recommended 14-day quarantine.
The bill easily passed the House by a 295-125 vote on July 21.
A day later — and a day before Hudson’s quarantine ended — the congressman entered into the Congressional Record a personal explanation to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, that says he would have voted in favor of the bill had he been present.
“The fact remains that Congressman Hudson did not ‘skip out’ on this bill or pay raises for troops, and this ad misleads the public about his record of helping to write this bill and support our military,” campaign spokesman Robert Andrews said.
The campaign has also sent a cease and desist letter, calling the ad “a low-brow attempt to deceive the voters.”
Caitlin Legacki, a spokeswoman for the PAC, raised the issue of proxy voting, pointing out that the House passed a measure in May and extended it until Aug. 18 to allow lawmakers to vote and take part in committee meetings remotely during the pandemic.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, along with 20 Republican members of Congress and four constituents, sued Pelosi in May over the practice, calling it unconstitutional and saying it dilutes members’ votes. Andrew says Hudson has joined the lawsuit.
In a statement posted May 31 on his Congressional website, Hudson said he would not vote by proxy.
“If healthcare workers, first responders, truck drivers, and grocery store clerks are on the job, lawmakers should be on the House floor voting,” he wrote.
The Hudson re-election campaign also says the congressman helped write the bill. In remarks to the House Armed Services Committee on July 20, U.S. Rep Trent Kelly, R-Mississippi, credited Hudson for the inclusion of a provision that increased hazardous duty pay by 10 percent — from $250 per month to $275 — for active-duty military members in eligible locations.
Kannapolis veteran recognized at President Trump rally in Charlotte
A veteran from Kannapolis who recently celebrated his 100th birthday got some special recognition from Commander-In-Chief Donald Trump at a rally held in Charlotte on Monday night.
“We’re also honored tonight to be joined by a true American hero. A veteran of World War Two and the Korean War who just turned 100-years-old, and his name is George Washington Perry…legit,” President Trump said. “George, thank you very much for being here, thank you George, 100-years-old.”
Last week, Rep. Richard Hudson, (R-08) helped Perry celebrate his 100th birthday and read that his only other wish was to meet President Trump.
“When I heard about George “Buck” Perry’s life of service and his 100th birthday last month, I was honored to enter remarks into the Congressional Record honoring his commitment to our nation during WWII,” Hudson said. “When I heard he had two wishes on his 100th birthday — to renew his drivers license one more time and to meet President Trump, I thought the timing couldn’t be more perfect since we had a rally scheduled for March 2nd. I’m proud to report mission accomplished.”
Hudson added that President Trump signed a photo for Buck while on Air Force One prior to the rally, and Buck was also able to fulfill his goal of meeting President Trump backstage.
Gerrymandering decision will mean new Harnett representative
The political tug of war over gerrymandering of congressional districts was settled on Dec. 2 by a North Carolina Appeals Court decision that leaves congressional districts as they were drawn by the Republican-led state legislature. That means a change for voters in most of Harnett, parts of Johnston, Lee, Moore and all of Cabarrus, Stanly, Montgomery and Cumberland counties, who now make-up the 8th U.S. Congressional District. It also means a new face will be representing most of those voters in Washington, D.C.
Current 8th District Congressman Richard Hudson, who officially filed to re-gain his seat shortly after the new districts were declared valid, visited Dunn recently in an effort to bring awareness to residents of the pending changes to their representation. Hudson has served as the representative for the district since 2013.
“My philosophy is if I’m you’re a congressman, I need to know you and you need to know me,” Hudson said. “So, I got here as soon as I could.”
Voters will have a bit of a foggy path to travel until the changes take effect. While voters in the re-drawn 8th district will choose their representative in the 2020 primary and general elections, the candidates chosen and eventually elected, won’t actually represent the new district until it becomes official in January of 2021.
“I’m going to represent my old district until January 3, 2021,” Hudson said. “I’ll be campaigning here, but if you need help with the federal government, I’m not legally allowed to help you until then. It’s going to be confusing for people because they’re going to see my ads and my signs thinking they can come to me, but I’m not really allowed to help them. But I can help direct people and we won’t turn anybody away.”
Hudson defines himself as “a conservative, but common sense person who likes to get things done.”
He is ranked as the 12th most conservative member of the House by the National Journal, he also carries another distinction according to one survey that dubbed him the “most effective North Carolina Congressman.”
The University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University did a study on the subject and Hudson was rated as most effective among all Republicans and Democrats in the state.
“I think I demonstrate you can stand on principle,” he said. “But you can also reach across the aisle and get things done for the people.”
Among his duties in the house, Hudson serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as on sub-committees for health care, energy and digital privacy.
As far as a primary focus currently, Hudson says veterans and the military are high on his list. Fort Bragg sits in the heart of his district. That fact, combined with the large number of veterans who have made North Carolina their home, has made Hudson want to focus on them and the issues concerning them, he says.
“We probably have more veterans in this part of the country than anywhere,” he said. “Then, I represent the largest Army base in the world, Fort Bragg, the epicenter of the universe, and that’s a big priority for me: making sure we’re giving those men and women everything they need to do their jobs well, get home safely and also take care of their families.”
Hudson spoke on the latest efforts by the House to pass a needed spending bill. He noted a continuing resolution, which allowed spending to continue temporarily at current levels, was recently passed. That handcuffs the military, though, and doesn’t afford them the chance to start new programs or get needed funding increases, he said. It expires on Dec. 20.
“When we do continuing resolutions, in which we say keep spending at the same levels as last year, it’s devastating to the military,” Hudson said. “They can’t start new programs, they can’t buy new systems. It’s really bad news for our troops.”
Hudson said the largest obstacle to get a new spending bill passed comes in the ongoing argument between Democrats and Republicans over funding President Donald Trump’s border wall. He said the stalemate has led to a lack of negotiation between the two sides.
“The biggest sticking point is the Democrats in Washington refuse to give the President any money for the border wall,” Hudson said. “And if there’s no wiggle room there, there’s no negotiations. I don’t know how you get out of that.”
He quotes former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms when speaking about the matter.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to compromise,” he said. “As Senator Jesse Helms, one of my heroes, used to say ‘I won’t compromise my principles, but I will compromise my preferences’ and at the end of the day you’ve got to be willing to compromise some of your preferences and come back and fight for more later.”
Hudson says the ongoing impeachment inquiry by Democrats is hindering efforts to resolve other issues, just as important, if not more. He says the focus is preventing getting anything done.
“They’re so focused on that, we’re not getting things done like funding the government,” Hudson said. “There’s a lot of things we can agree on like funding infrastructure, like dealing with drug pricing. There’s so many things that we could be doing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on that the people here expect us to be doing, and that’s the frustration for me.”
After filing for reelection on Dec. 2, Hudson released a statement.
“I’m running for reelection to continue to be a conservative, common sense voice for the people of North Carolina’s 8th District,” Hudson said. ”I’ve always been clear on my priorities for the district – creating an environment where folks can find good-paying jobs, rebuilding our military and being a voice for our veterans. I look forward to continuing to share our positive message from Cumberland to Cabarrus and everywhere in between.”
Rowan county congressman visit Emergency Operations Center, Landis
As bright skies and warm temperatures evaporated lingering puddles on Tuesday, Rowan County’s two congressmen took time to learn how locals fared during the weekend storm.
Reps. Richard Hudson, R-8, and Ted Budd, R-13, were briefed on county impacts by Chief of Emergency Services Chris Soliz.
Across the county, 264 storm-related phone calls have been recorded since the weather began late Friday. Most of these have addressed down power lines, trees and similar hazards.
Some 147 field reports have been collected by what Soliz called “field liaisons,” identifying areas with high flooding and other storm-related issues.
“We had all these different departments here,” said Soliz as he showed the two men Rowan’s Emergency Operations Center, established to prepare for and respond to Hurricane Florence as it approached. “… In this situation, everybody dropped titles and we were all one team.”
FALSE: Pelosi’s claim the House GOP is ‘inviting’ violent criminals to carry concealed weapons
The Pinocchio Test
Pelosi’s tweet focuses on a possible loophole in the law and then uses inflammatory language such as “inviting.”
But the reality is that most states already allow for reciprocity agreements with other states. Federal law also already prohibits violent criminals, abusers and stalkers from having guns; the issue is that some states already have tougher laws than at the federal level that could be overridden by permits from more lenient states. Still, the differences among most states may loom larger in the gun debate than in reality.
Pelosi’s tweet inspired such anger because responsible gun owners believe their rights are being curtailed, even if they follow the concealed-carry rules — while violent criminals who want to have a gun are not going to be bothered with following such rules in the first place.
We wavered between Two and Three Pinocchios but ultimately settled on Three because her last line — “the @HouseGOP just voted to do exactly that” — is so over the top and exaggerated. One can have a respectful political debate, raising the issue of a lower common denominator for concealed-weapons permits, without accusing the other side of voting to let violent criminals and stalkers have guns.
Three Pinocchios
N.C. Rep. Richard Hudson To Receive NAEMT’s 2017 EMS Legislator of the Year Award
NAEMT will present Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) with the 2017 EMS Legislator of the Year Award on April 25 during EMS On The Hill Day, the largest national advocacy event for emergency medical services (EMS) professionals.
This prestigious award recognizes a member of Congress who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to, and support of, high quality prehospital and emergency medical care, as well as the EMS professionals who dutifully serve our nation’s patients.
Read the full article here…
An Update On National Reciprocity
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., joined NRATV’s Grant Stinchfield Wednesday to give an update on the push for national reciprocity: “We have 129 co-sponsors, including three Democrats. So, I feel like we’re moving along very well with it,” he said.
Hudson introduced the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 on Congress’ first day in session for 2017. The bill, also known as H.R. 38, would eliminate the disorder of state carry laws by allowing individuals who have a license to carry permit from their resident state to exercise those rights across state lines.
“We’re using this time to prepare, to build support, and when we get our window of opportunity later this year, we’re going to take it,” assured Hudson.