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MIAMI — One thing that keeps Richard Hudson up at night as he tries to preserve the GOP’s slim House majority: Retirements.
The North Carolinian, who recently began his second term as National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, is resolutely optimistic about his chances of gaining seats next fall — despite the historic trend of parties in power losing ground after the first two years of a new president’s term. (Think the 2018 House Democratic takeover, or the 2022 House GOP comeback.)
In order to achieve his goal, Hudson has to focus on marching into blue and purple territory while also protecting his incumbents. And it was the fates of some sitting Republican lawmakers that Semafor wanted to discuss this week on the sidelines of the House GOP retreat.
The View From Richard Hudson
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Kadia Goba: Rep. Mike Turner wouldn’t typically be considered a vulnerable Republican. But after he got removed from the Intelligence Committee chairmanship, are you talking to him about his future plans?
Richard Hudson: We obviously try to keep track of everybody and look for any anomalies and things that might pop up. But Mike Turner is not what I’m concerned about. I mean, that guy works his district hard. He’s a former mayor. Mayors make good congressmen and represent their districts because they’re close to the people.
When you look at the members that we have that are “vulnerable,” they’re the most battle-tested people we have. Like, Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania. That guy works his district. He communicates well. His constituency represents their views very well, and they trust him. So, on paper, that looks like a vulnerable district, but good luck trying to take Brian.
How about if those members are retiring?
You put your finger on the one thing that keeps me awake at night. David Valadao is maybe the only Republican that can hold that [California] seat. I pray for his safety and continue willingness to serve people. And you hear rumors about people running for senator or governor. So we try to track, try to have those conversations. And I say to members, ‘Just don’t surprise me, you know, if you’re really considering this. Let me know, and let’s make sure we’ve got somebody in the wings to be a good, good candidate.’
How do Senate races, and potential primary challenges to GOP senators in states like North Carolina and Louisiana, affect your view of the House battlegrounds?
I mean, those two states in particular — one being my home state — we really don’t have any vulnerable Republicans, so that’s not something I worry too much about.
[Democratic Sen. Gary] Peters announced [he won’t run for re-election] today, so Michigan now becomes a battleground on the Senate side. So that’s going to impact us. It may help us if there’s a competitive Senate race, and we’ve got a Senate candidate who’s viable, who’s spending money to turn out voters.
Trump hasn’t pushed back too hard against Valadao, who voted for his second impeachment. Some have attributed that to former Speaker McCarthy’s relationship with the president and McCarthy’s articulating the importance of holding Valadao’s seat. Going forward, how do you ensure that the president doesn’t try to intervene against sitting Republicans?
He was an incredible partner last cycle for me. I sat down with him regularly to update him on our congressional races. And I was astonished the first time we sat down at his level of knowledge about details of congressional seats. He was just really helpful overall, and had a real strong awareness of the battlefield. And so, I expect it’ll be the same this time around.
Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated the NRCC chair in 2022.