Madison Cawthorn Tries to Survive North Carolina Primary as Slip-Ups Mount
s in the race in late March, saying, “Cawthorn has fallen well short of the most basic standards western North Carolina expects from their representatives.” A super PAC aligned with Tillis is taking the unusual action of spending $1.5 million in the district on mailers and TV ads, one of which calls Cawthorn a “reckless embarrassment" and ”dishonest disaster."
The 11th District field became crowded with well-known or well-funded challengers after Cawthorn decided in the fall to run in another district closer to Charlotte under boundaries retooled during redistricting that would have made his path to reelection much easier. Cawthorn's campaign said he wasn’t available for an interview. Campaign spokesperson Luke Ball wrote in an email that the congressman is “focused on moving forward, uniting the NC-11 GOP, and winning the November election, not relitigating the redistricting process.”
“It was analogous to ripping Santa Claus on Christmas Eve,” said Chris Cooper, a Western Carolina University political science professor. “I was being crass with a friend, trying to be funny,” he tweeted about one video. “We were acting foolish, and joking, that’s it. I’m NOT backing down.” “I love him because he’s never controversial,” Trump joked at a rally last month with Cawthorn. “There’s no controversy. But you know what? He loves this country. He loves this state and I’ll tell you, he is respected all over the place. He’s got a big voice.”