Fayetteville, North Carolina: Richard Ojeda Unseats Richard Hudson in 9th District Upset

FAYETTEVILLE (Orbit Post) Democrat Richard Ojeda beat Republican Rep. Richard Hudson in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, removing the chairman of the House Republican campaign arm in one of the biggest upsets of the midterm elections.

Complete but unofficial totals from the North Carolina State Board of Elections gave Ojeda 138,707 votes, or 51.11 percent, to 132,692 votes, or 48.89 percent, for Hudson, a margin of 6,015 votes with all precincts reporting. NBC News projected Ojeda as the winner. The Associated Press listed the race as too early to call in its own count, with an estimated 99 percent of votes counted. Results stay unofficial until the state canvass and certification are complete.

The seat Hudson held since 2013

Hudson, of Southern Pines, was first elected to Congress in 2012 and has represented the district since 2013, winning seven terms. He chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, the group in charge of electing Republicans to the House, which made him the man running the party's House money and strategy operation this cycle. Republicans had held the district since 1963. President Donald Trump carried it by 15 points in the 2024 election, according to the Washington Examiner.

The 9th District includes Fort Bragg, most of Fayetteville and parts of Cumberland County, along with all of Alamance, Hoke, Moore and Randolph counties and parts of Chatham and Guilford counties. Ojeda ran up his margin in Cumberland County, where he took 25,043 votes to 7,094 for Hudson, and he also led in Alamance, Hoke and Guilford counties. Hudson led in Chatham, Moore and Randolph counties, but it was not enough.

A challenger who trailed in every poll

Ojeda, a retired Army major and former West Virginia state senator who now lives in Aberdeen, trailed Hudson in every poll taken during the 2026 race. The Cook Political Report still rated the district as favorable to Republicans in the final days. A September poll by Lake Research Partners for Ojeda's own campaign had him behind by only 4 points, Democratic money moved into the race late, and Ojeda bought his first television ad space in mid-October, attacking Hudson over pharmaceutical money. Hudson put 200,000 dollars of his own money into his first television ad campaign in the final week.

Ojeda declared victory late on Tuesday night. "The people of NC-09 looked at the guy running the entire Republican money machine, and they fired him," he said in a statement. "This win belongs to every teacher, every nurse, every veteran, every family at Fort Bragg and every working person who's sick and tired of watching the billionaire class take everything. They deserve better. Starting in January, they're going to get it." He told the Washington Examiner: "I spent 24 years in the Army, and I've been in some hard fights. This is the one I'll remember for the rest of my life."

As of 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, Hudson had not issued a statement on the result.

The upset sat inside a strong Democratic night in North Carolina. Complete unofficial state totals showed Democrats winning 10 of the state's 14 House seats, according to the Reflector, and Ojeda benefited from the wide margin for Democratic Senate winner Roy Cooper at the top of the ticket, the Washington Examiner reported.