https://nyti.

ms/2VcewrI

Madison Cawthorn, 24, Upsets Trump-Endorsed Favorite in

North Carolina
Mr. Cawthornʼs victory in the G.O.P. primary for a House seat formerly held by Mark
Meadows, the White House chief of staff, was an upset for his handpicked successor, who
had the presidentʼs backing.

By Nicholas Fandos

Published June 23, 2020 Updated June 30, 2020

A 24-year-old real estate investor won the Republican nomination on Tuesday to fill a
western North Carolina congressional seat vacated by Mark Meadows, the White House
chief of staff, unexpectedly defeating the former congressman’s handpicked successor who
had been endorsed by President Trump.

Madison Cawthorn was on track on Tuesday night to defeat Lynda Bennett with nearly two-
thirds of the vote, according to The Associated Press. The surprise victory — and the
overwhelming margin — was remarkable given Ms. Bennett’s two-to-one fund-raising
advantage and the vocal support of Mr. Meadows and Mr. Trump for her candidacy.

Though Republicans are likely to hold onto the seat in November in the solidly conservative
district, the result was a stinging loss for both men. Mr. Meadows and his wife had a
personal relationship with Ms. Bennett, 62, before she ran to succeed him. Mr. Trump had
recorded a robocall for Ms. Bennett’s campaign, and her loss was the second in two weeks to
dent his previous streak of undefeated Republican primary endorsements, a point of pride
he has often boasted about. (Representative Denver Riggleman of Virginia, a freshman who
Mr. Trump had endorsed, broke the streak on June 13, when he lost to a right-wing
challenger, Bob Good, in an unusual drive-through convention amid conservative outrage
that he officiated at a same-sex wedding.)

Mr. Cawthorn will turn 25 before November’s elections, making him just old enough to be
eligible to be a member of the House. If he wins, he would be the youngest lawmaker in the
modern history of Congress and one of the youngest ever elected. The precise ages of
several members of the House and Senate serving around the nation’s founding are
unknown.
 Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, in April in the Oval Office. Doug Mills/The
New York Times

In a statement after his victory, Mr. Cawthorn made a direct appeal to Mr. Trump and his
supporters who backed Ms. Bennett.

“I want to make something clear: I support our great president,” he said. “I do not believe
this election has been a referendum on the president’s influence. The people of western
North Carolina are wise and discerning. You observed both candidates and simply made the
choice you believed is best for our district.”

Mr. Cawthorn campaigned as the embodiment of a new generation of politicians on the right
who are ready to go toe-to-toe with young officials ascending on the progressive left, like
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

“While the far left is lighting our cities on fire, we are lifting the light of liberty,” he said in his
statement.

Mr. Cawthorn finished behind Ms. Bennett in a 12-person primary in March, but no
candidate won enough votes to avoid a runoff. In the weeks since, he has run as Ms.
Bennett’s conservative equal, emphasizing his support for gun rights and his opposition to
abortion and “socialized medicine.” He tried to turn Ms. Bennett’s high-profile
endorsements against her, arguing she would arrive in Washington already beholden to
interests beyond her constituents.
Some Republicans in the district were bitter that Mr. Meadows announced he would not
seek re-election just before the December filing deadline and speculated that he had timed
the move to give Ms. Bennett an edge in the race.

Mr. Cawthorn has no government experience. He was nominated by Mr. Meadows in 2014 to
attend the United States Naval Academy, but a severe car crash left him paralyzed from the
waist down and reliant on a wheelchair. He featured the story prominently in his campaign.
A photograph on his campaign website showed Mr. Cawthorn dressed in hunting gear while
in his wheelchair, with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

Democrats have nominated Morris Davis, an Air Force veteran who goes by Moe and who
was the chief prosecutor at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The district, which encompasses the
state’s far-western counties in the Smoky Mountains, is considered safe Republican
territory, even after North Carolina was forced to redraw its congressional map for this fall’s
elections.

North Carolina Republicans moved quickly to rally around Mr. Cawthorn on Tuesday night.
Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, said he was
“completely confident” that Mr. Cawthorn would win in November.

“He will be a great fighter for Smoky Mountain families, and always put America first,” Mr.
Whatley said.