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

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 primary election on Tuesday evening.

Cawthorn called 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 News projected Edwards as the first winner within the state's 11th Congressional District on Tuesday evening. 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's 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 year's important U.S. Senate races: Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate primary 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 within the general election in opposition to Cheri Beasley, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Courtroom, who NBC projected would handily clinch the Democratic nomination.

The swing-state contest is one in every of a handful that may decide whether or not Democrats keep their majority in the Senate break up 50-50 by social gathering. 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 old, Cawthorn was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 2020. His seat, which was previously 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 primary races, thanks 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 medicine and inviting 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 came out swinging against Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a high rival in the GOP main. A political motion committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent greater than $300,000 on adverts attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised concerns of attainable insider trading, Tillis brazenly known as for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

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

"Not too long ago, he made some silly errors, which I don't imagine he'll make again," Trump stated of Cawthorn, including, "Let's give Madison a second likelihood!"

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

"He hasn't learned from a mistake he is made during the last 12 months," the senator said of Cawthorn.