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 Pictures

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

Cawthorn called 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 Information projected Edwards as the primary winner within the state's eleventh Congressional District on Tuesday night. 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 determined who will compete in one of this 12 months's important U.S. Senate races: Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate major in 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 Club for Development. He will face off in 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 certainly one of a handful that can determine whether or not Democrats maintain their majority within the Senate split 50-50 by get together. 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 Now 26 years outdated, Cawthorn was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 2020.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 staff Mark Meadows, is a safe Republican district.

However, the first-term lawmaker's reelection bid turned one of the state's most-watched primary races, because of a variety 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 alluring him to orgies; driving with a revoked license; bringing a loaded handgun to an airport; being eyed by ethics watchdogs over suspicions about possible 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 towards Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a prime rival in the GOP main. A political action committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent greater than $300,000 on adverts attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised issues of doable insider buying and selling, Tillis openly called for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

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

"Not too long ago, he made some silly errors, which I do not imagine he'll make again," Trump mentioned of Cawthorn, adding, "Let's give Madison a second likelihood!"

Requested by NBC News about Trump's publish, Tillis replied, "Technically, that is the sixth or seventh chance."

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