With 11 of 12 counties reporting, Foxx 138,003 votes, or 66 percent. Kennedy had 70,909 votes, or nearly 34 percent.
In the 12th District, Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat, won his race against Republican Greg Dority and Libertarian Lon Cecil.
With four of six counties reporting, Watt had 92,946 votes, or nearly 63 percent. Dority had 52,431 votes, or 35 percent. Cecil had 2,994 votes or 2 percent.
Foxx, who had the support of local tea-party activists, has held the 5th District seat since 2004.
“This election all across this country has sent a very clear message — voters are tired of the increasing size and cost of the federal government,” Foxx said. “And I’m very grateful and I’m very honored that so many people in the 5th district have seen fit to send me back to Washington.”
It was Kennedy’s first political campaign. A Watauga County farmer, carpenter and radio host, Kennedy, 52, said he would return to his life outside of politics. He did not rule a future campaign.
“It was a tough year to run as a Democrat, and we need to make sure we keep trying,” Kennedy said. “We need to make our society better.”
Both Foxx and Kennedy ran campaigns based on lowering the district’s unemployment rate and increasing jobs.
Foxx, 67, is a proponent of state’s rights and an advocate for a smaller federal government. She voted against the health-care overhaul, the stimulus package and the bank bailout. She said throughout the campaign that if Republicans won control of Congress, she would push for legislation to overturn the health-care legislation. She reiterated that commitment last night.
“We have to repeal it,” Foxx said. “But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have things — common-sense ideas — to replace it with.”
The 5th District covers the northwestern corner of North Carolina, from the western part of Forsyth County to the Appalachian Mountains.
In this election, Foxx increased her margin of victory over past Democratic challengers. In 2008, Foxx beatRoy Carter with 58 percent of the vote to Carter’s 42 percent.
