By Amanda Raymond
amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson came out with a win in the 8^th District congressional race on Tuesday night.

When the early and absentee votes were reported, Hudson, the Republican candidate, led the 8^th District with 55.7 percent over Democrat challenger Thomas Mills, who had 44.3 percent.

By the end of the night, Hudson had 187,911 votes, or 58.8 percent, and Mills had 131,428 votes, or 41.1 percent.

Back in February, a three-judge panel in the state’s Middle District Court declared that the 1^st and 12^th congressional districts were racially gerrymandered.

A new congressional map was drawn and now instead of the county being split among three districts, it is only split by two – the 8^th and 13^th districts.

The 8^th District starts in Cabarrus County near Charlotte and goes into Fayetteville. It includes most of Rowan County’s population.

In Rowan County, Hudson started out the night with a clear lead over Mills for the 8^th District, with 77.6 percent over 22.4 percent. After all 24 precincts came in, Hudson ended with 29,869 votes at 77.3 percent and Mills received 8,754 votes at 22.7 percent.

Hudson also won Cabarrus County with 62.4 percent of the vote, Stanly County with 73 percent, Montgomery County with 61.8 percent and Moore County with 67.4 percent.

Hudson thanked the voters and volunteers who helped make the re-election campaign a success.

“It’s an incredible honor to have this opportunity to continue serving our community,” Hudson said in a statement. “I’m grateful the people of the Eighth District were clear in their support tonight, and I want to thank them for their continued trust in me to help get our country back on track.”

This will be Hudson’s third term as the representative for the 8^th District. Hudson, 45, was formerly a district director for former U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes and congressional chief of staff. He also once owned a consulting business.

During his second term, some of Hudson’s notable work included introducing a bill to increase the screening requirements for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, advocating for the U.S. Postal Service to allow Granite Quarry residents to use their own town’s name instead of Salisbury on their mail and supported the delay in starting flights to Cuba because of security concerns.

Hudson has said that national security and economic growth were the most important issues facing the 8^th district. He has been a proponent of decreasing the role of government to allow small businesses to stimulate economic growth.

“… I remain committed to advancing common sense solutions that make it easier for everyone to raise their families, find and keep good-paying jobs and achieve a brighter future,” Hudson said. “Now, we must focus on what unites us and get to work.”

Mills congratulated Hudson on his win.

“I congratulate Congressman Hudson and wish the best for him and the people of the 8^th district,” he said.

Mills owns a public relations company and also runs an online politics blog. His campaign was focused on balancing the system to help Americans.

Mills won Hoke County with 55.2 percent of the vote and Cumberland County with 59.7 percent.

“I’m humbled by the support I received and glad that I had the chance to meet so many people across the district,” he said.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.