Madison Cawthorn

Congressman Madison Cawthorn, stunningly defeated last night in a party primary contest for his rural North Carolina district, was America's Icarus.

He was an internet celebrity and maybe that was enough for him. Like Steve King before him, it all became too much for voters to tolerate and as one voter in his district told me, “he makes me feel embarrassed for my hometown.” He had movie star good looks, a disability that brought compassion even from his critics, and for many seemed like the Republican answer to Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. How did it come to this?

Republican voters in North Carolina's 11th congressional district denied Congressman Madison Cawthorn the GOP nomination after he sanctimoniously snitched ...

After that, it was a video of him nakedly “ humping” a man. There were the photos of him in lingerie. “And it’s like, this is wild.”

First-term U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn conceded to North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards Tuesday night in the Republican congressional primary.

North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn has lost his re-election bid after a video surfaced of him naked with another man.

The remark did not go down well with representative Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader. LGBTQ+ voters will be relieved to see the back of Madison Cawthorn. He said LGBTQ+ rights should have ended with “two people who wanted to be able to get married” and that the “line” was crossed with healthcare for trans youth. In early May footage emerged of him thrusting himself at another man’s face while naked.

Five U.S. states held primary elections on May 17, 2022. Among them was North Carolina. There were primary races for the United States Senate seat held by ...

He won the Senate seat in his own right later that year, followed by winning re-election in 2018 and 2020. His 2020 victory gives Cawthorn the distinction of becoming the first member of the United States Congress to be born during the 1990s. But Cawthorn seemed to alienate many if not most of his other Republican colleagues. His predecessor, Mark Meadows, earlier resigned to become White House chief of staff. But other races were going on in the state. Likely played a big role in Trump's decision to endorse him.

Twenty-six-year-old Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was a rising star in the Republican Party. Now, many in the GOP think he's become a massive liability.

Tillis, who endorsed Edwards, said Cawthorn has fallen "well short of the most basic standards." Some of the candidates seeking to unseat Cawthorn even expressed concerns about his mental state. If no candidate wins more than 30 percent of the vote on Tuesday, the top two candidates will advance to a runoff election. He also referred to women who refused his advances as "b----es" and "sluts." He told The New York Times he wanted to "carry the message of conservatism in a way that doesn't seem so abrasive." A survey from April had Cawthorn polling at 38 percent in the Republican primary, with state Sen. Chuck Edwards in second place at 21 percent. According to the letter, Cawthorn routinely drove women to secluded areas, locked the doors of his car, and made "unwanted sexual advances." He proudly said Trump hadn't endorsed him "because I'm willing to be strongly critical of him whenever he messes up." In 2014, a car accident shattered his ankles, pelvis, and back, leaving the 18-year-old Cawthorn paraplegic and suicidal. He finished second behind Lynda Bennett — who was endorsed by then-President Donald Trump — but defeated her soundly in a low-turnout runoff race and then beat retired Air Force Col. Moe Davis in the general election. Maybe. He'll definitely be on the ballot. Two years later, he enrolled at Patrick Henry College, a conservative Christian school in Virginia with fewer than 400 students.

The Republican narrowly lost to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who had received the backing of some Republicans who had tired of Cawthorn's controversies.

The congressman, who faced sexual misconduct allegations from his time in college, was also the subject of a lewd video that circulated on social media. Opponents accused Cawthorn of being willing to abandon his constituents for political expediency. As of the AP race call, Edwards had received more than 33% of the vote, to Cawthorn's nearly 32% of the vote. Cawthorn has also faced backlash for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug" and for referring to those charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as "political hostages." Cawthorn also said he takes responsibility for various speeding tickets and for bringing a weapon to the airport, saying, "I forgot to disarm before I went through a TSA checkpoint and that's my bad, and I have to own that one." A member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who was first elected in 2020 to former Rep. Mark Meadows' seat, Cawthorn faced a crowded field of primary challengers in a district that will likely remain red.

The North Carolian freshman, just like his Georgia counterpart, has faced a constant stream of controversies during his time in office.

Republicans didn't turn against Madison Cawthorn because he is too extreme—Greene is still on track to win her nomination. Political consultant Fred Wellman added: "Cawthorn lost for a lot of reasons but the lesson is they are not invincible. The constant release of negative stories about Cawthorn ahead of his primary has led to r eports the GOP was trying to oust him from office. They turned on him because he said his colleagues invited him to cocaine orgies. Stop telling me a 1 term Congress member who has done nothing for their district can't be beaten. Following Madison Cawthorn's defeat in the North Carolina primary amid a string of scandals, there have been calls for the similarly controversial Marjorie Taylor Greene to also lose her seat.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's support was enough to elevate his Senate candidate to victory in North Carolina on Tuesday, while his pick ...

It’s a good omen for the next Trump target — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who’s also been using his incumbency to shore up his conservative bona fides against a challenger backed by the former president in next week’s primary. He touted steps he’d taken to please conservatives by capitalizing on the benefits of office — signing tax cuts and a law banning abortion after about six weeks. Edwards, who was endorsed by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, inched past Cawthorn in the primary. In March, he was cited for driving with a revoked license after being stopped for speeding twice. Shapiro, who was uncontested, has appeared eager to take on Mastriano, running a television ad calling Mastriano “one of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters,” a move that seemed designed to boost the state senator with GOP voters. Rep. Cawthorn, the youngest member of Congress, was ousted from office on Tuesday by state Sen. Chuck Edwards after a rocky first term filled with salacious headlines and scandals. With Trump prioritizing fealty to his election lies over all else, many Pennsylvania Republicans fear the former president has undermined their chances in the crucial state. But in Idaho, with incumbency on his side, the sitting governor weathered a primary challenge from his far-right lieutenant governor. Mastriano backed baseless reviews of the election results in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Joe Biden won by nearly 100,000 votes. He organized buses to ferry Trump supporters to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection. Trump is facing down another possible defeat in next week’s high-stakes governor’s primary in Georgia, where his candidate is trailing in both polls and fundraising. But Trump’s tally Tuesday night included wins, losses and a marquee race too close to call.

Ordinarily, when Donald Trump issues an endorsement of an incumbent Republican, the former president characterizes the GOP policymaker as a celebrated hero and ...

As regular readers know, the congressman appeared on a podcast in March and was asked whether the TV show “House of Cards” is realistic. Yes, Republican officials will probably be eager to help him pack up his office and pay for his airfare out of Washington, D.C., but they don’t always get to decide who maintains influence in GOP politics. His character flaws were fully displayed when he first ran for Congress in 2020: nods to white supremacists, extravagant lies, accusations of sexually predatory behavior, overt racism and a long list of driving offenses.” As the dust settles, there are three key elements to this that are worth keeping in mind. Far-right Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina lost in the primary election on Tuesday, ending his re-election bid after an ugly (yet entertaining) race characterized by Republican infighting. The former president didn’t bother to pretend that the North Carolina Republican has been an amazingly successful congressman — because even Trump realized that no one would take such a claim seriously.

Former President Donald Trump's support helped propel two Republicans to victory in high-profile primaries Tuesday night. But it wasn't enough to save a ...

“Neither Hines, Cawthorn or Budd have accomplished anything of significance to deserve a promotion or retain their current seat. - “Hines, Cawthorn and Budd have accomplished nothing and the only thing they got is an endorsement,” McCrory said. - Hines prevailed over seven other GOP candidates in the 13th district. The bigger picture: The Hines and Budd victories are an indicator of the direction of North Carolina’s Republican Party, but Cawthorn’s loss illustrates that a candidate needs more than far-right stances and Trump’s endorsement to win. And Tillis — who had an on-again, off-again relationship with the former president — proved to be a bigger player in the Cawthorn race. What they’re saying: “I think the Trump endorsement alone is worth 30% in a Republican primary, and the candidate either adds to that number or subtracts from it,” said Jim Blaine, one of North Carolina’s top Republican operatives.

US Rep Madison Cawthorn lost his reelection bid to state Sen. Chuck Edwards in the Republican primary for North Carolina's 11th congressional district.

The editorial board operates independently from the newsrooms in Charlotte and Raleigh and does not influence the work of the reporting and editing staffs. It certainly didn’t help that he was critical of U.S. Senator and North Carolina stalwart Thom Tillis, who returned the volley and then some, including in a six-figure ad spend through a PAC affiliated with Tillis. . It did take extraordinarily bad behavior, as well as threats to their own political success, for members of the Republican establishment to turn their backs on Cawthorn, however. It got worse when he accused his Republican colleagues in Washington of doing cocaine and hosting orgies in their free time. In an era where Trump still has an iron grip on the Republican Party, there’s some comfort to be found in knowing that there is still a point — both for the party and for voters — at which bad behavior becomes disqualifying. As it turns out, a Trump endorsement can only go so far when the rest of your party is willing to leave you behind.

Cawthorn, by contrast, built his one congressional term around taking on top Republicans — he won the seat in 2020 by winning a runoff against the candidate ...

How Edwards won the primary: Edwards says he is a Trump supporter as well — a necessity in a district that voted for Trump over Joe Biden by 10 points in 2020. Cawthorn was implicating them in baseless conspiracies, and some of them were starting to receive constituent calls asking if they were partaking in these alleged drug-or-sex parties. In March, Cawthorn started saying things that really angered top Republicans in Washington, like accusing them of hosting orgies and using cocaine and calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) had already been in a feud with Cawthorn for months. He’s generally well-liked by local Republicans: They picked him to fill a vacant Senate seat in 2016 and he’s still in that office. The Republican who kicked fiery Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) out of office in a primary on Tuesday night couldn’t be more different from the scandal-plagued, one-term congressman.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) called for Republicans in his district to “rally behind the Republican ticket” in November after he lost the GOP primary for ...

We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. “It’s time for the NC-11 GOP to rally behind the Republican ticket to defeat the Democrats’ nominee this November,” he added. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) called for Republicans in his district to “rally behind the Republican ticket” in November after he lost the GOP primary for his seat on Tuesday.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a freshman Republican who's been beset by scandal since taking office last year, has been ousted in a heated primary in North ...

The congressman, who faced sexual misconduct allegations from his time in college, was also the subject of a lewd video that circulated on social media. Opponents accused Cawthorn of being willing to abandon his constituents for political expediency. As of the AP race call, Edwards had received more than 33% of the vote, to Cawthorn's nearly 32% of the vote. Cawthorn has also faced backlash for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug" and for referring to those charged in relation to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as "political hostages." Cawthorn has referred to the emergence of various controversies as a "coordinated assault against me" but has maintained that the attention has actually gained him Twitter followers. Cawthorn also said he takes responsibility for various speeding tickets and for bringing a weapon to the airport, saying, "I forgot to disarm before I went through a TSA checkpoint and that's my bad, and I have to own that one."

Rep. Madison Cawthorn was a rising star in the Republican party until he was involved in scandals. Cawhthorn claimed he was invited to orgies where people ...

But Salinas and others in the race made it a major issue. And he welcomed the help from a super PAC affiliated with Pelosi. But it also stirred a powerful backlash that may have cost Flynn the race. He also called Trump "unfit to be president" back in 2016. His newly redrawn district is slightly less Democratic than before and contains only about half of the voters who previously elected him to the House. If she wins, she could face a tough general election campaign against the Republican victor. Some thought Simpson would be vulnerable in a primary. Foushee, a local school board member before joining the General Assembly, benefited from big super PAC spending on her behalf. U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, a moderate Oregon Democrat, has often been at odds with his party. Scott, a Black woman, was arrested during 2020 protests over Taylor’s death. Then there were the videos that showed Cawthorn in sexually suggestive poses. McGarvey, an attorney, was also endorsed by several state lawmakers and labor unions.

U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn struggled Tuesday to hold on to his western North Carolina seat, facing a stiff challenge from Chuck Edwards.

I am so grateful for the support I received and am forever indebted to the hardworking people of this district who made this victory possible. Now, we will harness this energy, come together as a party, and keep this seat in Republican hands in November. My campaign has been about staying true to mountain values and delivering real results for Western North Carolina, and that is exactly what I intend to do." State Sen. Chuck Edwards, one of seven Republicans challenging Cawthorn for the nomination, declared victory in a statement on Tuesday night. I am so grateful for the support I received and am forever indebted to the hardworking people of this district who made this victory possible. "Against all odds, we fought hard to win this election and provide clear conservative leadership for the mountains. State Sen. Chuck Edwards, one of seven Republicans challenging Cawthorn for the nomination, declared victory in a statement on Tuesday night.

First-term U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn conceded to North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards Tuesday night in the Republican congressional primary.

In 2020, Cawthorn ran for Congress in North Carolina's 11th district. He finished second behind Lynda Bennett — who was endorsed by then-President Donald Trump ...

He also referred to women who refused his advances as "b----es" and "sluts." He told The New York Times he wanted to "carry the message of conservatism in a way that doesn't seem so abrasive." According to the letter, Cawthorn routinely drove women to secluded areas, locked the doors of his car, and made "unwanted sexual advances." He proudly said Trump hadn't endorsed him "because I'm willing to be strongly critical of him whenever he messes up." In 2014, a car accident shattered his ankles, pelvis, and back, leaving the 18-year-old Cawthorn paraplegic and suicidal. Twenty-six-year-old Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was a rising star in the Republican Party, but his bad behavior made him a massive liability.

Rep Madison Cawthorn was defeated in Tuesday's Republican primary by Chuck Edwards, a member of the North Carolina state senate, in a surprising loss during a ...

Tuesday’s result is a sign that Donald Trump’s endorsement is not enough to carry a candidate with significant baggage past the finish line in every race. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy painted him as a liar after Mr Cawthorn alleged that his colleagues were doing cocaine and inviting him to orgies, and he was unable to secure the endorsement of a single member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation. He was accused of driving on a revoked license and cited for carrying a gun into an airport, and that doesn’t even begin to touch on his newly-erupted feud with Republican leadership. “I’ve had the opportunity to show them that track record” in the state senate, he added. “But we also supported Chuck when he was in the state House.” Rep Madison Cawthorn was defeated in Tuesday’s Republican primary by Chuck Edwards, a member of the North Carolina state senate, in a surprising loss during a busy night of primary elections.

North Carolina's GOP establishment exacted its revenge on the freshman congressman, who was backed by Donald Trump.

“I think when he said that he was the first politician to grow up with the cellphone, it’s very accurate,” he said. Cawthorn has blamed everyone but himself for his troubles, including so-called establishment RINOs, Republicans In Name Only, and left-wing activists for a “coordinated drip campaign” to leak his troubles to the media. Every seat in the House and a third of the seats in the 100-member Senate are up for election. As of April 25, 46 of the 50 states had settled on the boundaries for 395 of 435 U.S. House districts. We’ve got a lot of needs here, and we have a lot of people that want to talk to you as a congressman. “There’s been a coordinated strike carried out by really, kind of the old establishment wing of our party, and it’s something that I think is a loser’s mentality,” Cawthorn said at his campaign headquarters moments before he conceded. Numerous Republicans jumped into what appeared to be an open-seat race for the 11th District, including Cawthorn’s district chair and handpicked successor. “And they didn’t give him the scoop on Madison Cawthorn.” The incidents, many of them repeated, left Republicans wondering when he would learn to take responsibility for his actions. “Congratulations to @ChuckEdwards4NC on securing the nomination tonight,” Cawthorn wrote on Twitter shortly before midnight. Cawthorn “hasn’t learned from a mistake he’s made over the last year. The Republican was characteristically defiant, telling supporters he would be victorious amid a “very close” race.

His Republican opponent will be Douglas Mastriano, who has repeated Trump's false claims that Trump won the 2020 election; he got Trump's endorsement and ...

Cawthorn had upset Jews in North Carolina’s 11th District, many of whom hoped that his troubles could allow a Democrat to be elected in the historically Republican district, which was redrawn this year. His Republican opponent will be Douglas Mastriano, who has repeated Trump’s false claims that Trump won the 2020 election; he got Trump’s endorsement and prevailed in the Republican primary there Tuesday. Cawthorn’s defeat was one of several Tuesday for candidates who represent the far-right wing of the Republican party, including a high-profile one in Idaho who had the backing of former President Donald Trump. But most Trump endorsees did prevail Tuesday, signaling that the battle for the future of the party continues.

Cawthorn's loss did not come as a surprise to North Carolina's political experts and GOP operatives after a series of scandals.

“Cawthorn’s first public comments on the matter were around 24 hours after the Pigeon River reached initial flood levels,” Western North Carolina native Callie Pruett wrote in an op-ed in the North Carolina Mountaineer that ran with a headline calling Cawthorn’s silence an “unforgivable dereliction of duty.” Then, in February, Cawthorn reneged on his choice and opted to run again in his current district after all, and had to face Edwards. His constituents found him hard to reach; some of his district offices were often closed, requiring voters in his sprawling, mountainous district to travel far to get help. After his 2020 election, Cawthorn boasted that he had big legislative plans to work across the aisle, bring down healthcare costs, and improve rural broadband. Cawthorn angered his congressional colleagues with his salacious orgy comment, and the lingerie photos were a particularly damaging surprise for voters, experts say, released less than a month before the primary. Cawthorn’s loss did not come as a surprise to the state’s political experts and GOP operatives.

The ascension of Doug Mastriano as the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor confirms what constitutes sin and what constitutes virtue in the Grand ...

This is a preview of the 2024 election if Mastriano is governor and gets to appoint the secretary of state, who oversees elections. The beauty of this is the victim-projection matrix at work: seeking to corrupt the election and disenfranchise the people, Mastriano simply says the election has already been corrupted and the people disenfranchised, thereby justifying his corrupting and his disenfranchising. There is mounting evidence that the PA presidential election was compromised. And the most popular explanation for the scandal avalanche is that Cawthorn crossed Republican leaders with his wild claims he's been invited to cocaine orgy parties by various GOPers, making national enemies atop those he made in the state GOP. The problem's not that he is an irredeemable little shit who backed Trump's attempted autogolpe, it's that he pissed off the party by suggesting some members do cool stuff in their free time. This guy led efforts within Pennsylvania state government to toss the results showing Joe Biden won in 2020. Was it the allegations of sexual misconduct in college?

As of this morning, AP data reported that Cawthorn conceded defeat and put his support behind the GOP nominee.

As of this morning, AP data reported that Cawthorn conceded defeat and put his support behind the GOP nominee. Cawthorn was just 25 years old when he was elected to Congress in November 2020. As of this morning, AP data reported that Cawthorn conceded defeat and put his support behind the GOP nominee.

The Trump-backed incumbent Madison Cawthorn conceded the race for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District in the primaries on Tuesday, according to The ...

I wanted you to know the truth, straight from me. Most people have,” said Cawthorn in a Twittervideo, addressing the allegations. - NPRalso reports that he has been stopped at TSA two different times for carrying a loaded gun, and has been charged twice for driving with a revoked license. - He also stated that he is one of the first politicians that has grown up with cellphone in hand, meaning that his actions before running for Congress are documented in a way that older politicians don’t experience. However, he has denied these claims, perThe Washington Post. - “Have you ever taken a dumb photo on vacation?