Richard Hudson (American politician)

Richard Lane Hudson (born November 4, 1971) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 8th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, his district has covered a large portion of the southern Piedmont area from Concord to Spring Lake since 2017.

This article is about the American politician. For other people with the same name, see Richard Hudson.
Rich Hudson
Secretary of the House Republican Conference
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
LeaderKevin McCarthy
Preceded byJason Smith
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 8th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded byLarry Kissell
Personal details
Born (1971-11-04) November 4, 1971
Franklin, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Renee Howell
​
(m. 2010)​
Children1
EducationUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte (BA)
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and education

Hudson was born in Franklin, Virginia,[1] but has lived in the Charlotte area since childhood. He graduated from Myers Park High School in 1990, and from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1996,[2] where he became a member of Kappa Alpha Order.[3] He has a bachelor's degree in political science and history, and served as student body president and president of the College Republicans.[1]

Early career

Active in politics for many years, Hudson served as district director for 8th District Congressman Robin Hayes [4] from 1999 to 2005.[5] At various times, he served on the staffs of Republicans Virginia Foxx, John Carter and Mike Conaway.[5] He also served as communications director for the North Carolina Republican Party in the mid-1990s.[1] In 1996 he worked for Richard Vinroot's campaign for governor, and as campaign manager for Pat McCrory's run for governor in 2008.[1] Hudson was the president of Cabarrus Marketing Group, a small business consulting and marketing company he started in 2011 and dissolved upon his election to Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

2012 election

Hudson ran for Congress in North Carolina's 8th congressional district. He won the Republican primary runoff on July 17, 2012, with 64% of the vote against opponent Scott Keadle[6] and faced Democratic incumbent Larry Kissell in November. The district had been made significantly more Republican in redistricting, losing most of its share of Charlotte and picking up several heavily Republican areas northeast of the city.

Hudson spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida on August 28, 2012.[7] He defeated Kissell with 54 percent of the vote to Kissell's 46 percent and took office in January 2013.

North Carolina's 8th congressional district, 2012[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Hudson 160,695 53.2
Democratic Larry Kissell (incumbent) 137,139 45.4
Independent Antonio Blue (write-in) 3,990 1.3
n/a Write-ins 456 0.1
Total votes 302,280 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

2014 election

Hudson was opposed by Antonio Blue in the general election and won 64.9% to 35.1%.[9]

2016 election

In 2016, Hudson was challenged by Tim D'Annunzio in the primary election. He won with 64.6% of the vote; D'Annunzio received 35.4%. In the general election, Hudson defeated Democrat Thomas Mills 58.8%–41.2%.

2018 election
North Carolina's 8th congressional district, 2018[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Richard Hudson (incumbent) 141,402 55.3
Democratic Frank McNeill 114,119 44.7
Total votes 255,521 100.0
Republican hold

2020 election

Hudson faced Democrat Pat Timmons-Goodson in the 8th District, which stretches from Cabarrus County to Cumberland.[11] Numbers showed the 8th District could have been NC's most competitive congressional race.[12] This contest was on the November 3, 2020 ballot for residents of District 8 in NC.

Texas v. Pennsylvania

In December 2020, Hudson was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[13] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[14][5][15]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Hudson and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[16][17] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Hudson and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[18]

2021 Electoral College vote certification

On January 6, 2021, Hudson was one of 147 Republican lawmakers who objected to the certification of electoral votes from the 2020 presidential election after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and forced an emergency recess of Congress.[19]

Committee assignments

At the beginning of the 116th Congress, Hudson was assigned to the following committees:[20] Committee on Energy and Commerce,[21] Subcommittee on Energy,[22] Subcommittee on Health[23] and Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.[24]

Legislation sponsored
  • Hudson proposed prohibiting EPA officials from using airplane travel for official travel.[25]
  • Hudson sponsored a bill to improve airport security in reaction to the 2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting.[26] The bill was reintroduced by Rep. John Katko and became law in the 114th Congress.

Political positions

According to The Sandhills Sentinel, Hudson holds conservative positions on gun control, opposes abortion, and has been "a leading advocate of opioid reform."[27]

Hudson supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries. He stated that "At a time of grave security threats, President Trump is right to pause the flow of refugees from countries where terrorism is rampant until we can properly vet them and implement additional screening for individuals traveling to and from these countries."[28]

In 2012, Hudson promoted birther conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, saying "there’s no question President Obama is hiding something on his citizenship."[29] After he received pushback on the issue during his 2012 congressional bid, Hudson said he had made a mistake in pushing birther conspiracy theories.[30]

Asked by Vote Smart if he believes that human activity contributes to climate change, Hudson answered, "no".[31]

Hudson favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and has voted to repeal it.[32][27]

Personal life

Hudson's wife, Renee, is chief of staff for Kellyanne Conway.[27]

References
  1. "Richard Hudson - Candidate for U.S. President, Republican Nomination - Election 2012". WSJ.com. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  2. "HUDSON, Richard - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  3. "Congressman Richard Hudson". Kappa Alpha Order. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  4. "Congressman Richard Hudson | North Carolina Heroes' Fund". www.ncheroes.org. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  5. Editor, David Sinclair/Managing. "Hudson, Mills Vie for Congressional Seat". The Pilot Newspaper. Retrieved 2017-12-07.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. David Perlmutt and Lukas Johnson (18 July 2012). "Hudson to take on Kissell in U.S. District 8". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  7. Franco Ordoñez (28 August 2012). "Concord hopeful Hudson speaks role at Republican National Convention". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  8. "North Carolina General Elections Results 2012". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  9. "Richard Hudson". Ballotpedia.
  10. "District 8, North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement". North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  11. "Pat Timmons-Goodson for Congress". www.timmonsgoodsonforcongress.com.
  12. "Article". www.newsobserver.com. July 17, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-14.(subscription required)
  13. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  14. Liptak, Adam (2020-12-11). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  15. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  16. Smith, David (2020-12-12). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  17. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  18. Williams, Jordan (2020-12-11). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  19. Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Lu, Denise (January 7, 2021). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  20. House of Representatives, United States. "Office of the Clerk". Office of the Clerk. Office of the Clerk. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  21. Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. House of Representatives. "E&C GOP". E&C GOP. E&C GOP.
  22. Energy Subcommittee. "E&C GOP". E&C Republicans. E&C GOP.
  23. E&C GOP. "Energy and Commerce Republicans". E&C GOP. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  24. E&C GOP. "ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE Consumer Protection and Commerce". republicans-energy commerce. republicans-energy commerce.
  25. Wolff, Eric. "Let the WOTUS court fights commence!". POLITICO.
  26. Weikel, Dan (22 July 2014). "House passes bill to improve airport security in wake of LAX shooting". LA Times. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  27. McFarland, Lori (2018-11-07). "Rep. Richard Hudson wins fourth term". Sandhills Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  28. Blake, Aaron. "Coffman, Gardner join Republicans against President Trump's travel ban; here's where the rest stand". Denver Post. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  29. Lavender, Paige (2012-05-05). "More GOP Candidates Make Birther Claims". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  30. Ordonez, By Franco (2012). "GOP candidates from N.C. back down from questioning Obama's birthplace". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  31. "North Carolina's Climate Change Deniers". Vice. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  32. "NC House Republicans split on GOP Obamacare repeal bill".
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Larry Kissell		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 8th congressional district
2013–present		 Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jason Smith		 Secretary of the House Republican Conference
2021–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Lois Frankel		 United States Representatives by seniority
174th		 Succeeded by
Jared Huffman
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