NC Democrats Take Five GOP Seats

Five U.S. House races in North Carolina went to Democrats on Thursday, all in districts drawn to favor Republicans.

The Associated Press called the results for the 6th, 9th, 13th, and 14th Congressional Districts. These four seats flipped from Republican to Democratic control. The 1st District also went to Democrats, though it was already held by a Democrat.

In the 6th District, High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson defeated first-term incumbent Addison McDowell. Jefferson won in the Triad area. In the 9th District, former West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda beat National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson.

Paul Barringer took the 13th District from first-term incumbent Brad Knott. That district covers the Raleigh exurbs. LaKesha Womack defeated first-term incumbent Tim Moore in the 14th District. Moore previously served as speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Legislators redrew the state map in 2023 to help Republican candidates. Those districts performed as expected in 2024. Moore won the 14th District by about 16 percent that year. McDowell won the 6th District by more than 38 percent.

Rep. Brian Jack of Georgia wrote to fellow House Republicans that GOP lawmakers may have contributed to the loss. He noted that Democrats withdrew support for North Carolina weeks before the election. Former Gov. Roy Cooper won the open U.S. Senate seat by nearly 20 percent.

Incumbent Democrat Don Davis also won the 1st District. Republicans redrew that district last year to make it easier for GOP candidates to win. Davis leads Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout by more than 10,000 votes. That is a larger margin than his 2024 win.

Three races remain uncalled. In the 3rd District, Republican Greg Murphy leads Democrat Raymond Smith by 233 votes. Democrats did not run a candidate there in 2024. In the 5th District, Democrat Chuck Hubbard leads 11-term Republican Virginia Foxx by 99 votes. Both races may go to a recount. If current results hold, the state delegation will have 10 Democrats and 4 Republicans.