Local Politics · Chatham County
NC District 9 Candidates; Early Voting Begins Thursday, Oct. 15
Incumbent Republican Rep. Richard Hudson (in office since 2013) faces Democratic challenger Richard Ojeda, a retired U.S. Army major and former West Virginia state senator, in the 2026 race for North Carolina's 9th Congressional District. The district, redrawn in 2025, stretches from Greensboro to Fayetteville and covers rural Chatham County along with parts of Alamance, Guilford, Hoke, Cumberland, Randolph, and Moore counties. Ojeda won a contested Democratic primary in March, while Hudson ran unopposed; Hudson did not participate in the local candidate questionnaire. Early voting runs Thursday, Oct. 15 through Saturday, Oct. 31, with Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.