The rout of North Carolina Republicans continued Thursday after the Associated Press determined four GOP House lawmakers lost reelection, while others are on track to lose in a once reliably red state that is now handing the GOP some of its biggest losses this cycle.
Reps. Addison McDowell, Brad Knott, Richard Hudson and Tim Moore were all ousted after winning by more than 15 percentage points in 2024. Reps. Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx and David Rouzer are neck-and-neck with Democrats in their red-leaning districts as the last batches of votes are counted.
Meanwhile, Rep. Don Davis (D) won reelection in the 1st District, the AP said Thursday, despite Republicans redrawing his district to favor the GOP. North Carolina is among the Southern states where Republican redistricting backfired and the GOP did not get all the redrawn seats it had hoped for.
The triumphs add to the astonishing results North Carolina Democrats have racked up in the midterms as voters fed up by the Iran war and economic struggles punished President Donald Trump’s party at the ballot box.
Soon after polls closed on Election Day, former governor Roy Cooper (D) was declared the winner for an open Senate seat, defeating Trump’s handpicked candidate, Michael Whatley, by nearly 20 percentage points.
That set the stage for some of the GOP’s most devastating losses downballot. Democrat Jamie Ager, a fifth-generation farmer, flipped the toss-up 11th Congressional District later that night, defeating Republican state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom. Then, results showed that Republican incumbents in races that weren’t seen as competitive were suddenly in danger.
McDowell lost his seat to Cyril Jefferson, the Democratic mayor of High Point, in a district that was seen as “solid Republican” in the nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s race ratings. The GOP redrew it in 2024 to lean heavily conservative, and Democrats did not challenge McDowell that year.
In a statement Wednesday, McDowell addressed North Carolina Republicans, telling them “not to back down.”
“Now is the time to stand taller, dig in, and join me in rebuilding the values and principles that have always made our communities strong,” he said.
In the 13th District, Knott fell to attorney Paul Barringer. In the 14th District, Moore lost his seat to Lakesha Womack, a consultant who reported raising only $59,000 for her campaign. Cook rated both of the districts as “likely Republican.”
In the 9th District, Hudson’s loss to Democrat Richard Ojeda is especially painful for Republicans. As chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Hudson led the campaign strategy to elect GOP House candidates nationwide, many of whom also suffered resounding defeats this week.
By early Wednesday, Democrats had already retaken the chamber, but the party could reach 257 seats in the House, which would be its largest majority since 2009.
In North Carolina, Democrats won a majority in the state House and came one seat away from flipping the Senate Senate, too.
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