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 Photographs

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

Cawthorn known as state Sen. Chuck Edwards to concede the race, the congressman's spokesman instructed reporters. Edwards had been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

NBC News projected Edwards as the primary winner within the state's eleventh Congressional District on Tuesday night. 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 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 both by Trump and the influential conservative group Membership for Progress. He will face off within the common election in opposition to 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 will determine 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. House members from North Carolina. Now 26 years previous, 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 secure Republican district.

However, the first-term lawmaker's reelection bid became one of the state's most-watched major races, due to a variety 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 medication 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 potential 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 prime rival in the GOP major. A political action committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent more than $300,000 on advertisements attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised issues of possible insider trading, Tillis openly called for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

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

"Just lately, he made some silly errors, which I do not consider he'll make again," Trump said of Cawthorn, including, "Let's give Madison a second chance!"

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

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