These safe Republican seats were supposed to be safe until voters flipped them blue

A former Army major who became a liberal social media phenomenon during President Donald Trump's first term has taken the Republican House seat, charged with winning his party's congressional campaigns.

Richard Ojeda defeated Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina this year in the state's 9th district. Hudson, a seven-term congressman, had led the National Republican Congressional Committee, the organization dedicated to supporting his party's House campaigns.

However, he was unable to save his own seat after Republicans floundered in the state. Party organizations had pulled support from Michael Whatley, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate, as he failed to gain traction against Democratic nominee Roy Cooper. Ojeda had run multiple races in West Virginia before moving back to North Carolina, where he had served at Fort Bragg.

He then successfully ran against Hudson. Ojeda arrived on Capitol Hill this week as one of several new members who pulled off upset victories this year. “Our victory is not just impressive because of how many seats we gained — although we did gain a lot — what was incredible last night was how far we reached into deep red territory," said Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Here is a look at some of the other new members who won unexpected races.

Iowa 2nd district

An open race emerged in Iowa's northeast when Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson decided to run for U.S. Senate. The Republican candidate was Joe Mitchell, a former state lawmaker. Trump visited Dubuque just two days before the election to try to boost turnout. Mitchell nonetheless lost to Lindsay James, a Democratic state lawmaker and a minister.

“I am going to stay laser-focused on lowering costs for hard-working families here in my district because that’s what they have asked me to do,” James said in an interview. Two other candidates on the ballot, one libertarian and one unaffiliated, received more votes than James' margin over Mitchell, boosting her victory.

Colorado 5th district

Colorado's 5th district is home to NORAD, Fort Carson and the Air Force Academy, as well as the evangelical group Focus on the Family. Colorado Springs has been a conservative stronghold for years, but the city has been slowly turning more moderate as young families move in. Its veteran population has also been unsettled by Trump's approach to the military and the Iran war.

Jessica Killin, a Democrat and former Army captain, capitalized on this to run as a moderate against Rep. Jeff Crank. Crank had previously run the Colorado chapter of the conservative group Americans For Prosperity. Killin hammered him for falling in line behind Trump once he got into the House.

Nevada 2nd district

Former state lawmaker Teresa Benitez-Thompson made history as the first Democrat to win Nevada's 2nd Congressional District. Her Republican opponent, David Flippo, faced accusations that he exaggerated his military record and failed to release required financial disclosures on time.

Benitez-Thompson campaigned as a moderate with longtime roots in northern Nevada. She contrasted herself with Flippo, who aligned himself closely with Trump. Flippo had moved from southern Nevada to join the race after longtime Republican Rep. Mark Amodei announced his retirement. Amodei refused to endorse Flippo, calling him a fraud.

For the first time ever, Democrats will hold all of Nevada's congressional seats.

Wisconsin 1st district

Republican Rep. Bryan Steil won all four of his previous elections in this southeast Wisconsin district by at least 9 points. Before him, former House Speaker Paul Ryan held the seat for two decades. No Democrat had won there since 1993. All of those factors made it improbable that Democratic newcomer Mitchell Berman would come out on top this year.

Berman was running for the first time for any office. But Berman, an emergency room nurse, tapped into voter anger and leveraged his middle-class background to beat Steil by nearly 4 points. The outcome will ripple through Wisconsin politics because Steil was widely considered as a likely candidate for U.S. Senate down the road.

Texas 23rd district

The race opened up when Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales announced he wouldn't run for reelection. He had admitted to an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide. Primary voters chose Brandon Herrera to run in his place. Herrera is a gun-enthusiast YouTuber with about 4 million subscribers and a history of caustic commentary.

Democrats put up Katy Padilla Stout, a lawyer and former teacher, but many believed she had little chance. The district hadn't elected a Democrat since 2012. She won by 8 points.

Texas 9th district

This district used to be so blue that Republicans didn't even field a candidate in 2024. But a year later, at Trump's urging, the state legislature redrew the congressional map, making it far more conservative. Democrats and their donors figured the seat was a lost cause.

Democrat Leticia Gutierrez, who had previously worked in Houston city government, ran against Republican Alex Mealer, a well-financed military veteran active in conservative politics. “Everyone felt it was a done deal that this was written for Republicans,” said Gutierrez in an interview with The Associated Press. “They just weren’t going to invest their time, money, and resources into someone that had never run a congressional campaign.”

Then Gutierrez beat Mealer by a little over 15 points.

Indiana 5th district

Rep. Victoria Spartz has been a wildcard in the Republican caucus, often withholding her support for legislation until the last minutes as she seeks concessions from party leadership. The Ukrainian-born lawmaker nonetheless seemed to be a safe reelection prospect in conservative Indiana, particularly in her affluent suburban and rural district north of Indianapolis.

The seat became even redder in 2021, when the state legislature removed portions of more Democratic-leaning areas of Marion County and added conservative rural tracts. Two years ago, Trump won by 17 percentage points, and Spartz won by even more. But this year J.D. Ford, a Democratic state senator, beat Spartz by 3.4 percentage points.

New Jersey 2nd district

There aren't many red seats left in the Northeast, but one of them has been in the southeastern corner of New Jersey. The district stretches from shore resorts to the pine barrens, and it's been represented by Rep. Jeff Van Drew. He was first elected to Congress as a conservative Democrat in 2018. He switched parties in 2020 after Trump's first impeachment.

Van Drew kept winning reelection until this week, when he lost to Zack Mullock, the Democratic mayor of Cape May. Mullock focused on Van Drew's support for the president, attacking him in a debate over the Iran war and tariffs. Van Drew argued that his connections with Trump would benefit the district.