Trump-backed Rep. Madison Cawthorn concedes North Carolina GOP main

Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks earlier than a rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump at The Farm at 95 on April 9, 2022 in Selma, North Carolina.

Allison Joyce | Getty Images

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the scandal-prone freshman lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump, conceded defeat in his Republican main election on Tuesday night time.

Cawthorn known as state Sen. Chuck Edwards to concede the race, the congressman's spokesman advised reporters. Edwards had been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

NBC Information projected Edwards as the primary winner in the state's 11th Congressional District on Tuesday night time. He led the race with greater than 33% of the vote, compared with roughly 32% for Cawthorn.

"Congratulations to @ChuckEdwards4NC on securing the nomination tonight," Cawthorn stated in a tweet. "It is time for the NC-11 GOP to rally behind the Republican ticket to defeat the Democrats' nominee this November."

North Carolina voters on Tuesday had already decided who will compete in one in every of this yr's critical U.S. Senate races: Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate main within the race to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr, NBC projected.

Budd is backed both by Trump and the influential conservative group Membership for Growth. He'll face off within the common election towards Cheri Beasley, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court docket, who NBC projected would handily clinch the Democratic nomination.

The swing-state contest is one among a handful that will determine whether or not Democrats maintain their majority within the Senate cut up 50-50 by occasion. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

Cawthorn is one in every of 13 U.S. Home members from North Carolina. Now 26 years previous, Cawthorn was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 2020. His seat, which was beforehand held by ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, is a safe Republican district.

Nonetheless, the first-term lawmaker's reelection bid grew to become one of many state's most-watched major races, because of a variety of scandals and missteps that spurred harsh criticism — even from some Republicans.

The controversies swirling around Cawthorn include: making claims about different lawmakers doing illicit drugs and alluring him to orgies; driving with a revoked license; bringing a loaded handgun to an airport; being eyed by ethics watchdogs over suspicions about potential insider trading related to a meme cryptocurrency; calling Ukraine's president a "thug" amid an invasion by Russia; and others.

Tillis came out swinging in opposition to Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a prime rival within the GOP major. A political motion committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent more than $300,000 on adverts attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised concerns of possible insider trading, Tillis brazenly known as for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

Trump, meanwhile, defended Cawthorn in a social media post over the weekend.

"Recently, he made some foolish errors, which I don't imagine he'll make again," Trump stated of Cawthorn, adding, "Let's give Madison a second chance!"

Requested by NBC Information about Trump's submit, Tillis replied, "Technically, that is the sixth or seventh likelihood."

"He hasn't learned from a mistake he's made during the last year," the senator mentioned of Cawthorn.