U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy conceded defeat in his midterm re-election bid to represent eastern North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. The move, announced Wednesday, makes challenger Raymond Smith the latest North Carolina Democrat to oust a Republican congressional incumbent this year.
Republicans entered Election Day representing 10 of the state’s 14 congressional districts. Democrats have now flipped at least six of those seats while retaining the four they already represent. Two of the state’s congressional elections remain undecided and could face a recount.
County election officials across the state worked late Tuesday to count provisional ballots, a process that left Smith with about 300 more votes than Murphy in the district that stretches from Fayetteville’s eastern edge to the coast, covering Wilson, Kinston, Greenville and Jacksonville. Although the vote count is not yet official, Murphy released a statement Wednesday morning acknowledging his defeat.
“I want to congratulate Representative-elect Raymond Smith on his successful election to the Third District congressional seat,” Murphy said in the release. “I am confident that he will serve the next two years with honor and integrity. I would be remiss if I did not express my personal disappointment in not being able to continue what I consider to be good and diligent work on behalf of the people of eastern North Carolina.”
Smith learned the news while traveling to Washington for a freshman orientation session for new members of Congress. He told WRAL in an interview that all around the Capitol, “there’s an air of excitement. There’s an air of anticipation. There’s an air of enthusiasm. For me, it’s always been about work.”
That work will include a laundry list of issues that Smith hopes he can address once he arrives in Washington, drawing on his previous experience in the state Legislature and as a member of the Wayne County School Board.
“There’s a real plethora of things to do,” Smith said. “All of them are a priority. In my humble opinion, nothing jumps out and says, ‘This is it,’ because the cost of living continues to be an issue. The cost of gas. We’re in a war that no one can understand why we’re still in. There are people in my district who are hurting, and they can’t go to the doctor because they don’t have health insurance.”
Redistricting backfired on NC Republicans
For Republicans, the election was a rejection of efforts to use redistricting to artificially inflate their political power in the state. In the 2024 election, Democratic Rep. Don Davis won the state’s only competitive district. Republicans responded in 2025 by redrawing the map to turn Davis’ seat into a more solidly Republican one. They did this by moving more Republican voters into Davis’ district, replacing Democratic voters moved into Murphy’s district.
Even though Murphy’s district became more competitive this year than in previous years, Republicans still expected Murphy to win. Voters in the new version of the district supported Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Kamala Harris by 13 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.
Davis won again this year despite the new map, defeating Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout for the second election in a row.
Critics of the redistricting effort warned at the time that it could move from a practice known as “gerrymandering” to what some political analysts call “dummymandering” — a phrase that refers to a redistricting plan that backfires against the political party that developed it.
The changes made Davis’ district whiter and Murphy’s district blacker. Both Smith and Davis are black, and Smith told WRAL on Wednesday that he believes local voters saw what GOP leaders were trying to do and became motivated to go to the polls and fight back.
“It was clearly an attempt to dilute the black vote,” Smith said. “Period. This was an attempt to gerrymander Congressman Davis, remove him from office, dilute the black vote so that black elected officials could not be represented in the state of North Carolina.”
Federal courts have already rejected claims of racial gerrymandering in the 2025 redistricting, with federal judges ruling last year that the new maps did not violate the rights of Black voters. Smith said another of his policy goals was to strengthen legal protections for voting rights.
“One of the things that we absolutely need to focus on, leading up to the 2028 election, is making sure that voting rights are solidified and codified in the Constitution, so that we don’t have to continue to deal with these types of issues,” he said.
Rep. Virginia Foxx is also lagging behind
In addition to Democrats flipping at least six of 10 Republican seats in Congress, Democrat Roy Cooper on Tuesday won the open U.S. Senate seat, which is being vacated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis after more than a decade.
More Democratic victories could still come once votes are finalized. Republican U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx and Democrat Chuck Hubbard remain locked in a tight fight for Foxx’s district in northwest North Carolina. Foxx trailed Hubbard by about 330 votes after provisional ballots were counted. A recount could be in the offing.
Hubbard has already traveled to Washington for a first-year congressional orientation and claims victory.
“The mood is absolutely over the top for the Democratic Party” in Washington right now, Hubbard told WRAL by phone from the Capitol building on Wednesday. He added that he hoped Foxx would call him to officially concede.
“We certainly hope that Republicans will respect the will of the people in this race and concede the elections they need to concede so that we can have a smooth transition and ensure that no constituent service is left behind as we move forward,” Hubbard said.
Foxx is not required to concede at this point, since the race is not technically over. The margin is close enough for Foxx to request a recount. She has until the end of the month to decide.
So by the time all votes are counted, and depending on the official outcome of the Foxx-Hubbard race, North Carolina’s 14-person delegation in the House of Representatives will go from a 10-4 Republican advantage to a 10-4 or 11-3 Democratic advantage.
Other Republicans who lost to Democrats in races to represent North Carolina in Congress this year include:
- 13th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Brad Kott lost to Democrat Paul Barringer in the district on the outskirts of the Triangle.
- 7th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson lost to Democrat Richard Ojeda in the central North Carolina district that includes Fort Bragg.
- 14th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Tim Moore lost to Democrat LaKesha Womack in a district west of Charlotte.
- 6th Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Addison McDowell lost to Democrat Cyril Jefferson in a Triad area district.
- 11th Congressional District: The vacant seat held by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards was won by Democrat Jamie Ager over Republican Jennifer Balkcom in western North Carolina.
In late October, the National Republican Congressional Committee found it unlikely that Democrats could flip most of these seats. The NRCC is one of the largest national groups dedicated to helping Republicans take control of Congress.
“I have oceanfront property in Cherokee County for sale to anyone who believes Democrats can flip these seats,” NRC spokesperson Reilly Richardson told WRAL on Oct. 22. “Districts 3, 5, 9 and 13 are solidly Republican seats with strong incumbents and will remain so in November.”
Democrats ultimately flipped at least three of the four districts he referenced – belonging to Murphy, Hudson and Knott. The other district referenced is Foxx.
On Wednesday, Hubbard told WRAL that even though the state’s congressional maps were drawn to disadvantage Democrats, he was confident in his campaign and its message. His first priority in Congress will be to push for more funding for rebuilding after Hurricane Helene, which he says should be a bipartisan issue for his constituents in western North Carolina.
“We’re going to work hard for them, regardless of party,” Hubbard said. “No matter who it is, it’s my job to work hard for every person in my district.” »
WRAL state government reporter Caroline Yaffa contributed to this report.
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