Richard Hudson (U.S. politician)

Richard Hudson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Larry Kissell
Personal details
Born	November 4, 1971 Franklin, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Renee Hudson
Alma mater	University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Religion	United Methodism
Website	Government website

Richard Hudson (born November 4, 1971) is an American politician who has been the United States Representative for North Carolina's 8th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life

Hudson was born in Franklin, Virginia, but has lived in the Charlotte area since 1975. He graduated from Myers Park High School in 1990, and from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1996, where he became a member of Kappa Alpha Order.^[1]

He was the president of Cabarrus Marketing Group, a small business consulting firm he started in 2011. The business was dissolved after Hudson was elected to Congress in 2012.

Active in politics for many years, Hudson served as district director for 8th District Congressman Robin Hayes from 1999 to 2005. At various times, he served on the staffs of Republicans Virginia Foxx, John Carter and Mike Conaway. He also served as communications director for the North Carolina Republican Party.

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^[2] 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.

Richard Hudson spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida on August 28, 2012.^[3]

Hudson defeated Kissell with 54 percent of the vote to Kissell's 46 percent and took office in January 2013.

2014 election

Hudson was opposed by Antonio Blue in the general election and won 64.9% to 35.1% ^[4]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
  • Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit
• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management
  • Subcommittee on Transportation Security (Chair)

Legislation sponsored

• Restore Free Speech (H.R. 127, 113th congress)- the first bill that Rep. Hudson ever co-sponsored was to repeal the Johnson Amendment of 1954. He has since co-sponsored other versions on the bill.^[5]
• Transportation Security Acquisition Reform Act (H.R. 2719; 113th Congress) - Hudson introduced this bill into the US House on July 18, 2013.^[6] The bill requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop a comprehensive technology acquisition plan.^[7] The Government Accountability Office and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General each found that the TSA's lack of a technology acquisition plan led to waste, excessive costs, and security failures.^[7] This bill was written in response. The bill passed both Houses of Congress and on 12/18/2012 became Public Law No. 113-245.
• Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2014 (H.R. 4802; 113th Congress) - Hudson introduced this bill into the House on June 6, 2014.^[8] The bill is a reaction to lessons learned from the 2013 Los Angeles International Airport shooting.^[9] The bill was reintroduced by Rep. John Katko and became law in the 114th Congress.

References

1. "Congressman Richard Hudson". Kappa Alpha Order. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
2. David Perlmutt and Lukas Johnson (18 July 2012). "Hudson to take on Kissell in U.S. District 8". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
3. Franco Ordoñez (28 August 2012). "Concord hopeful Hudson speaks role at Republican National Convention". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
4. http://ballotpedia.org/Richard_Hudson
5. https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr127/text
6. "H.R. 2719 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
7. Kasperowicz, Pete (2 December 2013). "House to push tech reform at TSA". The Hill. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
8. "H.R. 4802 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
9. Weikel, Dan (22 July 2014). "House passes bill to improve airport security in wake of LAX shooting". LA Times. Retrieved 23 July 2014.

External links

• Congressman Richard Hudson official U.S. House site
• Richard Hudson for Congress
• Richard Hudson at DMOZ
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress