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

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 Pictures

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

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

NBC News projected Edwards as the first winner within the state's eleventh 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 mentioned 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 among this 12 months'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 Club for Growth. He will face off in the normal election in opposition to Cheri Beasley, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, who NBC projected would handily clinch the Democratic nomination.

The swing-state contest is one of a handful that can decide whether Democrats maintain their majority within the Senate break up 50-50 by occasion. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

Cawthorn is one in every of 13 U.S. House 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 workers Mark Meadows, is a protected Republican district.

Nevertheless, the first-term lawmaker's reelection bid became one of the 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 include: making claims about other lawmakers doing illicit medicine 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 attainable insider buying and selling related to a meme cryptocurrency; calling Ukraine's president a "thug" amid an invasion by Russia; and others.

Tillis got here out swinging in opposition to Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a top rival within 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 potential insider trading, Tillis brazenly called for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

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

"Just lately, he made some foolish errors, which I do not consider he'll make once more," Trump said of Cawthorn, including, "Let's give Madison a second chance!"

Asked by NBC News about Trump's post, Tillis replied, "Technically, that is the sixth or seventh likelihood."

"He hasn't discovered from a mistake he is made over the past 12 months," the senator said of Cawthorn.