Donald Trump

Madison Cawthorn Concedes to Chuck Edwards in North Carolina

The first-term congressman lost his primary bid for re-election despite a late appeal from Trump, who encouraged voters to look past the young lawmaker’s string of missteps

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC)
Pete Marovich/Getty Images

Buckling under the weight of scandal, Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C. — a favorite of former President Donald Trump — conceded that he had lost his re-nomination bid in western North Carolina’s 11th District Tuesday.

Cawthorn spokesman Luke Ball told reporters Tuesday night that the congressman had called state Sen. Chuck Edwards, a conservative backed by many of the state’s establishment players, to concede the race.

Cawthorn, 26, lost despite an 11th-hour appeal from Trump, who encouraged voters to look past the young lawmaker’s run-ins with the law, claims that fellow lawmakers use cocaine and engage in orgies, and images of the first-term congressman wearing lingerie and gyrating naked atop another man in bed.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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