If no candidate receives at least 30% of the vote, then there will be a runoff election between the top two vote getters. Former President Donald Trump announces his endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd for the U.S. Senate as he speaks at the North Carolina Republican Convention, June 5, 2021, in Greenville. But after that map was thrown out by the courts, Cawthorn decided to return to his current district. But what really outraged Cawthorns Capitol Hill colleagues were comments he made on a podcast in late March when he likened Congress to the fiction series House of Cards., The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington, I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 or 70 [you] look at all these people, a lot of them that Ive looked up to through my life Then all of a sudden you get invited. Cawthorn's congressional race has been one to watch during Tuesday's GOP primary election in North Carolina, as well as the Senate GOP primary. Cawthorn, who is the youngest member of Congress at 26 years of age, has seen his approval ratings take a plunge as his personal and professional life keeps making headlines. Cawthorn, who represents the mountainous region of western North Carolina, still maintains a relatively robust lead over Edwards, who came in second with 20% among 300 likely Republican primary voters surveyed between March 10 and 13. Former President Donald Trump announces his endorsement of Rep. Ted Budd for the U.S. Senate as he speaks at the North Carolina Republican Convention, June 5, 2021, in Greenville. The. In North Carolina, a winner just needs to cross a 30% threshold in order to avoid a July runoff election. We want to hear from you. Cawthorn was viewed as a rising star in the GOP when he won the election in 2020 to replace then-Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, but a series of public missteps have dogged his first term in office. 25-year-old Republican congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn is facing a tougher fight than expected in the race to replace former Rep. Mark Meadows in North Carolina's 11th congressional district. Three Republicans are running in the primary in the district: former local councilwoman Kathleen Coder, national security expert Jason Killmeyer and former township commissioner Jeremy Shaffer. At 26, Cawthorn is the youngest member of Congress, but he's become embroiled in multiple controversies. Here are more House races to watch Tuesday: Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina's 11th District is facing multiple serious primary challengers who aim aim to replace him after his tumultuous first term in Congress. The 26-year-old lawmaker is facing two viable Republican challengers, state Sen. Chuck Edwards and Michele Woodhouse, former GOP chairwoman of western North Carolina's 11th Congressional District.. State Sen. Chuck Edwards, who was endorsed by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and several Republican leaders in North Carolina, defeated Cawthorn outright, denying the 26-year-old congressman a second term in office. "He's lost my trust," McCarthy said in response to the controversy. Voters in North Carolina primary tell Fox News what influenced their vote, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot reacts to election loss, says she was treated unfairly because of her race, gender, Who are Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson? Explore this storyboard about U.S. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Voters in western North Carolina chose youth when they elected Madison Cawthorn, widely considered a rising star of the Republican Party, to Congress when he was 25 years old. Mr. Tillis became critical of Mr. Cawthorns statements and behavior and endorsed one of his primary opponents, State Sen. Chuck Edwards. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn's prominent role as the youngest pro-Donald Trump agitator in Congress can rub people on the right and the left the wrong way in his North Carolina district. In the closing days of the primary race, Results for NC Inc, which has supported Tillis, ran a 30-second ad accusing Cawthorn of being a reckless playboy out to slash spending on Social Security . The rally comes about five weeks before North Carolinas primary elections where Trump has thrown his support behind candidates in some key Republican races. Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn is facing several primary challengers, one of whom is endorsed by Senator Thom Tillis, who said Cawthorn had "fallen well short of the most basic standards Western North Carolina expects from their representatives." Mr. Cawthorn did not respond to a request for comment. That race is turning into one of the most expensive primary races in the country. All rights reserved. State Sen. Valerie Foushee is being backed by the pro-Israel group AIPAC and a cryptocurrency billionaire, according to The News & Observer. May 17, 2022 Chuck Edwards, a three-term state senator and business owner, has edged out Representative Madison Cawthorn in the Republican primary for a House seat representing North. He is a member of the Republican Party.. After working as a staffer for U.S . Last fall, Cawthorn indicated he would run in a different district that could have a more favorable map, but reverted course back to run in the 11th District after redistricting shifted the lines. Cawthorn conceded defeat on Tuesday night. "We've got a winning team," he previously told Insider. Moe Davis (D) . Sign up for notifications from Insider! The poll, commissioned by Republican training organization GOPAC, found Cawthorn with just 38% support among Republican primary voters in North Carolinas 11th Congressional District. The timings of the negative press has led to speculation that there is a GOP-led attempt to oust Cawthorn from the party that might believe he is too damaging and volatile to stay in office. The next-highest challenger, state. Members of his own party began to publicly criticize Cawthorn after he claimed on a podcast in March that he witnessed drug use in Washington, DC, and was invited to an "orgy" by lawmakers. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats. Cawthorn, a first-term Republican who was elected in 2020 from what was then North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, in the westernmost part of the state, filed in December to run for a. According to a survey by the Republican GOPAC Election Fund published in April, Cawthorn's approval rating in North Carolina fell 13 percentage points from 64 to 51 compared to the previous month following the string of controversies. Were going to have a sexual get-together at one of our homes, you should come., What did you just ask me to come to? And then you realize theyre asking you to come to an orgy, he said, later adding: You watch them do a bump of cocaine right in front of you, and its like, This is wild., That earned Cawthorn a scolding from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who told reporters the North Carolinian had lost my trust and would have to earn it back.. But after that map was thrown out by the courts, Cawthorn decided to return to his current district. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) First-term U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn lost his Republican primary race Tuesday to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, after the pro-Donald Trump firebrand's personal and political blunders translated into voter unhappiness.. Cawthorn called Edwards to concede the 11th Congressional District primary to Edwards, Cawthorn campaign spokesperson Luke Ball told The Associated Press. Unaffiliated voters have made up the largest group of voters in Colorado for a number of years now. The poll, which surveyed likely Republican primary voters on Monday and Tuesday, also found the congressman's favorability rating fell from 64% in March to 51% this week, while his job approval rating dropped from 66% to 54%. Early in-person voting began on April 28. "I don't believe that this will go to a runoff.". Smith was backed by the Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. That's on top of two previous traffic violations for speeding at 87 and 89 mph. "He's dangerous," said Philip, a longtime Hendersonville resident who declined to give his last name. Opponents are counting on. (Mark Walker Senate campaign). 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. We've stayed focused. Vance Pitches PPP for Ohio Residents, Farm State GOP Raises Alarm Over Trump Trade Plan, Senators Wade Into Tough Talks on Social Security, FBI Agents and Prosecutors Argued Over Trump, McCarthy Defends Giving Video to Tucker Carlson, GOP Divided on Responding to Lab Leak Report, Trump Ties GOP in Knots Over Social Security, Judicial Activism Is Apparently Quite Lucrative, Fox Leaders Struggled to Break from Trump, Jordan Rips Merrick Garland Over Hunter Biden, FBI Says Covid Likely Came from Chinese Lab. WATCH: TED BUDD MAKES HIS CLOSING CASE TO VOTERS IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW, "I think it was huge," Budd told Fox News Digital Tuesday of Trump's endorsement. Chris Seward / AP, file "He's a hot mess," Republican voter Susan . Cawthorn later walked back these remarks saying he exaggerated. His unfavorable rating in March was 29% and that number shot up to 44% in April. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he'd "lost his trust" in Cawthorn after those remarks became public, according to Politico. "He has got to get out of here He has lost a lot of respect in this community. Insider spoke with five former Cawthorn campaign volunteers who helped him run in 2020. Flynn also has the financial backing of cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried and his super PAC, "Protect Our Future." This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Clay Aiken, the former singer on "American Idol," is running in a crowded field to replace retiring Democratic Congressman David Price. It was a victory for former President Trump, who endorsed Budd last summer for the open seat over former Gov. Cawthorn was partially paralyzed in a car accident at the age of 18. Rep. Madison Cawthorn lost the Republican primary for his House seat in North Carolina on Tuesday halting the young, pro-Trump congressman's rise after a . "Cawthorn is 100% unelectable. Cawthorn represents North Carolina's 11th Congressional District North Carolina's Republican primary election is coming up on May 17 He still holds a solid lead in local polls but it dropped. Cawthorn's team said the photos were taken before he entered Congress and the aide is his cousin who helps him regularly with his disability. Cawthorn addressed the allegations his own party is plotting to get him voted out of Congress in an Instagram video after he was caught with a gun at a security checkpoint at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on April 26. When Madison was first elected to Congress, he did a great job, the 45th president wrote. Cawthorn keeps quiet on his plans but is not mum on efforts to disqualify him from running for office. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) speaks before. here for reprint permission. In North Carolina's 13th. One independent poll for the race by the Republican GOPAC group showed Cawthorn with 38% of the vote, followed by Edwards with 21%, Woodhouse with 5% and 20% undecided. But in April it dropped to 38%. They have spent over $10 million in the race, according to a campaign finance report. ", Asked by NBC News about Trump's post, Tillis replied, "Technically, this is the sixth or seventh chance.". CBS News - By Aaron Navarro, Caroline Linton. Related reporting:Fellow NC Republican Tillis calls for Cawthorn insider trading investigation, While polling accuracy is difficult with primaries, Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper said the data was another piece of evidence "that the disaster that has been Madison Cawthorns last few weeks is getting through to the average voter.". Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat that has not endorsed in the primary, called House Majority PAC's involvement "flat-out wrong.". Now Madison Cawthorn is starring on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin State TV. The convention is being held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic but will include speeches from various locations including Charlotte, North Carolina and Washington, DC. ), Images have also been leaked of him wearing women's lingerie. That could mean undecided voters move toward other candidates, such as Edwards, he said. The poll shows the 26-year-old, first-term Henderson County congressman's percentage of support from decided likely primary voters was 49% in March. Four states are holding primary elections on Tuesday: Nevada, South Carolina, Maine and North Dakota. 145 comment s 1 video The negative news is taking a toll on Mr. Cawthorns image among voters in the 11th Congressional District in Western North Carolina ahead of the May 17 eight-person primary. Do you need ID? In the Senate race, the victory was an impressive turnaround for Budd. he wrote on TRUTH social. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the youngest member of Congress, failed to hold onto his House seat, after critics said the 26-year-old brought too much negative attention to his North Carolina. The April poll used 400 likely GOP primary voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus4.9%. Newsweek has contact Cawthorn and the GOP for comment. Both surveys used one-third land lines, one-third cellphones and one-third text to web. Rep. Madison Cawthorn arrives as the House Republican Conference meets to elect a new chairman to replace Rep. Liz Cheney, at the Capitol on May 14, 2021. Cheney is facing one of the toughest primaries in the country after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role encouraging supporters to raid the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.. Mr. Cawthorn defended himself, calling the attacks against him from within the party smears and that his detractors are RINOS (Republican In Name Only), who are sellouts and that those in the Washington swamp hate him for what he stands for. His seat, which was previously held by ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, is a safe Republican district. The short answer: maybe," Blaine said. Another candidate, who is unnamed in the memo, pulled in 11%, and 17% of respondents said they were undecided. Shortly after the polls closed, the Associated Press called the Republican race for Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C. (Photo Courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images). Budd is backed both by Trump and the influential conservative group Club for Growth. Sen. Thom Tillis speaks during a campaign event with Vice President Mike Pence at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, Oct. 27, 2020. Cawthorn spent his campaign cash at a fast clip and has been largely off the air leading up to the primaries. In April, Politico published pictures of Cawthorn partying in lingerie. North Carolina Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate primary in the race to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr, NBC projected. Mr. Edwards hit Mr. Cawthorn with an attack ad of his own early last month, staying with the theme that Mr. Cawthorn ran for office to be in the limelight to become a political celebrity., He added, If you want a celebrity, then watch the Kardashians, but if you want a proven conservative that will fight and win, then Im your man.. Madison Cawthorn, Trump-backed incumbent congressman, loses primary. This story has been shared 116,590 times. Marisa Schultz is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital. Cawthorn had actually backed one of his opponents, Michele Woodhouse, when it didn't appear they would be running against each other in a previous version of North Carolina's congressional map and she had been brought to meet with Trump and other Republican operatives at Mar-a-Lago. Cawthorn, in his first term in what was Mark Meadows' congressional seat, has lately been ensnared in multiple controversies, from calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug," to getting caught driving with a revoked license, to bringing a loaded gun into a Charlotte airport to ethics complaints of alleged misconduct toward his staff. There are seven total Republican candidates challenging Cawthorn. Honeycutt told Insider that Cawthorn's run-ins with law enforcement are "a distraction to the election.". Market data provided by Factset. Budd will face off against Beasley in North Carolina Senate contest, per AP race calls, Cawthorn's inflammatory comments have some Republicans in his district tiring of him. The federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday stemming from the effort to block U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-North Carolina, from reelection. ", LAWMAKERS BEHAVING BADLY: MADISON CAWTHORN, Heading into the primary and even during the vote tally, Cawthorn felt optimistic, while acknowledging its "closer than I thought it would be. here for reprint permission. One of the most anticipated races of this week's midterm primary elections is still without a result. VOTERS DECIDE PENNSYLVANIA, NORTH CAROLINA, IDAHO PRIMARIES, IN TEST OF TRUMP'S CLOUT: LIVE UPDATES, Woodhouse told Fox News Digital she would bring "honor to the position and never bring any salacious headlines to this district that are embarrassing to the voters here.". as well as other partner offers and accept our, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Insider. The poll, commissioned by Republican training organization GOPAC, found Cawthorn with just 38% support among Republican primary voters in North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. The 26-year-old was defeated in a party primary contest in his safely Republican rural North Carolina . The short answer: maybe, a polling memo said. In April, he found himself in hot water with GOP leadership after making comments without evidence that linked his own party with cocaine use and orgies. North Carolina voters on Tuesday had already decided who will compete in one of this year's critical U.S. Senate races: Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate primary in the race to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr, NBC projected. Their likely GOP challengers, Lisa Scheller in the 7th District and Jim Bognet in the 8th District, both have endorsements from Trump and McCarthy. "We have incredible support with our endorsements, our fundraising, our boots on the ground, the feedback that I am getting from voters; I am feeling great.". "The big question remains: Will Madison Cawthorn lose the primary on May 17th? Rep. Madison Cawthorn arrives as the House Republican Conference meets to elect a new chairman to replace Rep. Liz Cheney, at the Capitol on May 14, 2021. ", 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.". His remarks on a podcast prompted outrage from his own colleagues and a condemnation from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Cawthorn has also been stopped on two separate occasions at airports for carrying a loaded gun, and has been charged twice for driving with a revoked license.