WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Chuck Edwards won election to a U.S. House seat representing North Carolina on Tuesday. Edwards defeated Democratic state Rep. Caleb Rudow to earn a second term in Congress in the 11th District, which now covers all or portions of 16 mountain counties. Edwards is a longtime operator of McDonald’s franchises in western North Carolina. He joined the state Senate in 2016. He went to Capitol Hill after narrowly defeating then-11th District GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn in the 2022 Republican primary. Edwards is a member of the House appropriations and budget committees. The Associated Press declared Edwards the winner at 10:06 p.m. EST.