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

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 night.

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 eleventh Congressional District on Tuesday night time. 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 critical 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 Progress. He'll face off in the common 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 determine whether or not Democrats preserve their majority in the Senate split 50-50 by party. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

Cawthorn is certainly one 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 main races, because of a wide range of scandals and missteps that spurred harsh criticism — even from some Republicans.

The controversies swirling round Cawthorn include: making claims about different lawmakers doing illicit medicine 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 buying and selling 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 top rival within the GOP major. A political motion committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent greater than $300,000 on ads attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised issues of potential insider buying and selling, Tillis overtly 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 stated of Cawthorn, adding, "Let's give Madison a second chance!"

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

"He hasn't learned from a mistake he is made over the last year," the senator mentioned of Cawthorn.