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U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry won his fifth term Tuesday night, defeating state legislator Patsy Keever in the 10th Congressional District race.
The Cherryville Republican lead Keever 57 percent to 43 percent, according to complete but unofficial results.
McHenry, a 36-year-old Belmont Abbey graduate, ran a pro-business, small-government campaign that highlighted his work with “crowdfunding” legislation. It allows entrepreneurs to raise financing by collecting small sums of money over the Internet.
McHenry watched the results with his wife and members of the Gaston County Republican Party in Gastonia. He said Keever called and congratulated him.
“I’m obviously very pleased with the outcome of this race,” he said. “It was a hard-fought race. I had a very good challenger.”
The 10th District picked up 35,500 new Democratic voters when GOP legislators redrew the lines to include large portions of more liberal Asheville. McHenry’s support in more Republican areas easily overcame the changes.
The new lines packed “a strong Democratic city into a very strong Republican district,” said Michael Bitzer, a Catawba County political scientist.
Keever, 64, a retired teacher and former North Carolina legislator, campaigned on improving education, abortion rights and protecting Medicare and Social Security.
Keever defeated Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy in the Democratic primary this spring. But she was a clear underdog in a district where Republican presidential candidate John McCain won 57 percent of the vote in 2008.
McHenry also raised $1.2 million, compared to Keever who raised less than $400,000.
