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Republican Madison Cawthorn survived an onslaught of attacks on his youth, education and character to defeat his Democratic opponent in the general election and become the third-youngest person in history to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
“My shoulders haven’t been this loose in 10 months,” Cawthorn told the Cherokee Scout following his Nov. 3 victory over retired Air Force Col. Moe Davis. “[The campaign] was bloodier than I wanted it to be. Unfortunately, it got dirty. It got fierce.
“I have to hand it to my opponent; he fought a hell of a race. He’s a heck of a contender. I’m looking forward to not only working with him, but working with people who didn’t vote for me to create a better America.”
Cawthorn – who in August turned 25 years old, the minimum age required to serve in Congress – said he would like to serve on either the House Appropriations Committee or House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“On appropriations, I can make sure we get enough money for our infrastructure,” he said. “If I’m on foreign affairs, I can make sure we’re not wasting our money overseas so our taxes aren’t increased.”
Cawthorn said his priorities after taking office would be to help heal the partisan divide across the country and fix the health-care system. He also said he’s “optimistic about accomplishing some infrastructure goals,” regardless of which political party is in control of the House and Senate after the election results are certified.
“I’m going to break the norm. I’m going to be friendly with [Democrats] outside the halls of Congress,” Cawthorn said. “If I can share a beer with someone, more likely than not I can create a dialogue to create some real change.”
He said a tweet he published on the night of the election – reading, “Cry more, lib.” – was his last campaign jab at those who opposed him.
“I had to get that out of my system; I like celebrating a win,” Cawthorn said. “That was really directed at the people who participate in cancel culture. All those people who were throwing radical accusations at me. People trying to cancel me out.”
However, the road to bipartisan compromise could be an uphill battle. After U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) published a tweet on Nov. 6 questioning whether anyone was “archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future,” Cawthorn responded, “Antics like this belong in the USSR, not the USA. Start learning history, stop making lists. Soviet-Style intimidation tactics won’t work here in America, Comrade.”
After defeating a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in the Republican primary runoff, Cawthorn sustained attacks from Democrats who criticized him for a photo taken during a 2017 visit to Adolf Hitler’s vacation house in Germany, which had been on his “bucket list for awhile.” Cawthorn denounced white nationalism in interviews following the controversy.
Cawthorn also survived accusations of sexual misconduct that allegedly happened during his student years, in addition to attacks from critics who accused him of misrepresenting the timeline of events between his nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy and the car accident that left him partially paralyzed.
Throughout the campaign, Cawthorn repeatedly argued that he would win if his opponents challenged him on policy and the issues most important to residents of western North Carolina. He encouraged voters to look past the “conspiracy theories” and “bigotry” he claimed was promoted by some Democrats.
According to unofficial results, Cawthorn earned about 54.52 percent of the votes cast. Davis received 42.36 percent of the votes, while Libertarian Party candidate Tracey DeBruhl received 1.91 percent and Green Party candidate Tamara Zwinak received 1.21 percent.
“Thank you,” Cawthorn told his constituents in a conversation with the Scout. “I promise I will represent North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District well. I will not be indebted to anyone else but you until I am done serving you.”