Patrick McHenry was greeted with thunderous peals of applause when he took the stage to greet his supporters and declare victory in the 10th Congressional District.
"This was one of the best Democratic years we've seen since 1974. They threw everything they had at Western North Carolina and we won," McHenry said.
McHenry vowed not to be deterred by the Democratic victories in races across the country.
"The morals and values I took with me to Washington — I still have them," he said. "I'm not going to stop fighting for conservative ideals now."
With nine of 10 counties reporting, McHenry had captured 170,726 votes for 58 percent versus his opponent Democrat Daniel Johnson's 125,688 votes.
McHenry won 36,233 or 47 percent of Catawba County's votes versus 32,231 for Johnson.
All results are unofficial until a canvass is completed.
"To win in your opponent's home county is a victory in itself," McHenry said, adding he thinks what led Catawba County voters to choose him was his record of service.
"I think people can see how much I care about this county and how important it is to me," he said.
McHenry said Johnson called him just after 9 p.m. to congratulate him on his victory. McHenry said it was the first time in 10 campaigns that an opponent had done that.
"I just wanted to call and congratulate him on his victory," said Johnson, a Catawba County native and Hickory resident. "It's important to be gracious in victory and defeat. We had a good conversation. We're proud of the campaign we ran. We ran a strong campaign and people responded to the message we put out there."
He added that it was a little early to predict if he would run for election again, saying only that he was looking forward to spending some time with his family and getting some rest.
McHenry appeared on the national political scene in 2004 when the nine-term incumbent Cass Ballenger retired from the U.S. House of Representatives, clearing the way for a new congressman to represent North Carolina's 10th District.
McHenry ran in a heavily contested four-way primary. Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman led the contest with 35 percent of the votes — short of the 40 percent required for a victory. McHenry came in second with 26 percent of the votes and called for a runoff election in which McHenry defeated Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman by fewer than 100 votes.
Having made his way through to the general election, McHenry went on to win his first term in Congress by defeating Democrat Anne Fischer in that November's general election. He was 29 years old and he won 64 percent of the popular vote.
Two years later, McHenry won a second congressional term by beating Democrat Richard Carsner, with 61 percent of the vote.
McHenry got to this year's general election by easily defeating Lance Sigmon in the Republican primary, winning 66 percent of the vote.
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