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

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 Photos

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

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 evening. 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 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 one of this yr's important 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 each by Trump and the influential conservative group Club for Development. He'll face off in the normal election towards 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 in every of a handful that can decide whether or not Democrats preserve their majority within the Senate cut up 50-50 by occasion. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

Cawthorn is certainly one of 13 U.S. Home 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 Now 26 years outdated, Cawthorn was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 2020.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 previously held by ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, is a safe Republican district.

However, the first-term lawmaker's reelection bid turned 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 round Cawthorn include: making claims about other lawmakers doing illicit drugs 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 against Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a top rival within the GOP primary. A political motion committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent greater than $300,000 on advertisements attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised issues of potential insider buying and selling, Tillis brazenly called for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

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

"Lately, he made some foolish mistakes, which I don't consider he'll make again," Trump stated of Cawthorn, including, "Let's give Madison a second probability!"

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

"He hasn't learned from a mistake he's made over the past year," the senator said of Cawthorn.