HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn called his Republican primary opponent and conceded on Tuesday night, losing his reelection bid in the Western North Carolina district that sent him to Congress two years ago.
Cawthorn left his campaign headquarters in Hendersonville just before 10 p.m. and called state Sen. Chuck Edwards to concede the race soon after, campaign spokesperson Luke Ball told reporters.
Nearly 99% of precincts across the 11th Congressional District were reporting results as of 10:30 p.m., and Edwards maintained a slight lead over Cawthorn.
Earlier on Tuesday night, outside Cawthorn’s campaign headquarters, a group of supporters had gathered, along with campaign staff and members of the media.
Cawthorn, the youngest member of the 117th Congress, had already earned national attention in his first term for his support of former President Donald Trump, his far-right beliefs and his controversial comments and behavior. But beginning in March, a series of scandals, which he called a drip campaign from his Republican colleagues, plagued the congressman.
It began when he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a thug” and the Ukrainian government “evil.” It escalated when he went on a podcast and said his congressional colleagues participated in orgies and did key bumps of cocaine.
Frank Burdette, a consultant from Hendersonville who is a friend of Cawthorn’s, said he is supporting the first-term congressman’s reelection bid because Cawthorn “fits the profile of a conservative Republican.”
Burdette, 59, told reporters he believed many of the recent unflattering headlines about Cawthorn were “lies” and were promoted by the “swamp,” a reference to establishment politicians.
Asked if some of Cawthorn’s recent scandals have embarrassed the district, Burdette said most people would understand what it’s like to be “young.”
“I’m thankful that they didn’t have a phone with a camera in my life,” he added.
Cawthorn’s behavior cost him the support of North Carolina’s top Republican leaders, including U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, state Senate leader Phil Berger and state House Speaker Tim Moore. The three Republicans instead threw support behind Edwards.
Burdette said he was unsurprised that Tillis backed Edwards, calling both of them “RINOs,” a shorthand for the phrase “Republican in Name Only.”
“What they stand for is not what the Republican Party should stand for,” Burdette said.
The state redrew the congressional districts in November after census data gave North Carolina an additional member of Congress.
A new district south of Charlotte was believed to be hand-drawn for Moore.
Cawthorn put out a video on Twitter shocking many by saying he would run in that district, outside his home county of Henderson, to challenge “go-along-to-get-along Republicans.” Many saw that as a direct attack on Moore. The 11th District, though still largely Republican, was also diluted of right-leaning voters, making the district west of Charlotte more favorable for Cawthorn.
A Cawthorn supporter, 11th District GOP Chairwoman Michele Woodhouse, said she would run to replace Cawthorn in his home district.
Cawthorn took a plan to Trump at his home, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida, asking him to support a particular Republican in each of North Carolina’s 14 districts. In Cawthorn’s home district, he asked Trump to endorse Woodhouse.
But Cawthorn didn’t anticipate that North Carolina lawmakers would be told that their congressional map was politically gerrymandered to favor Republicans and would need to be redrawn.
State lawmakers redrew Cawthorn’s adopted district blue, forcing him home and into a race against Woodhouse and the other six Republicans running there.
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