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

Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks before 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 Pictures

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

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

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

"Congratulations to @ChuckEdwards4NC on securing the nomination tonight," Cawthorn said 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 considered one of this yr's crucial U.S. Senate races: Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate major within the race to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr, NBC projected.

Budd is backed each by Trump and the influential conservative group Membership for Growth. He will face off within the general 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 in every of a handful that can determine whether Democrats preserve their majority within the Senate cut up 50-50 by party. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

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 Now 26 years outdated, Cawthorn was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 2020.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

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

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

Tillis got here out swinging towards Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a prime rival in the GOP main. A political motion committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent greater than $300,000 on advertisements attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised concerns of doable insider trading, Tillis overtly called for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

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

"Lately, he made some foolish mistakes, which I don't imagine he'll make once more," Trump mentioned of Cawthorn, including, "Let's give Madison a second probability!"

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

"He hasn't realized from a mistake he's made over the last 12 months," the senator stated of Cawthorn.