The last month-plus has been rough for Madison Cawthorn, and it just got rougher. As per CNN, the North Carolina representative, who became the youngest person in Congress less than a year-and-a-half ago, has conceded the primary that would have led to his re-election to his successor, Chuck Edwards. The reasons for his downfall are not hard to gauge. He suffered a flurry of scandals and humiliations, some disseminated by a PAC that was specifically devoted to destroying his reputation. Perhaps it worked.
Cawthorn pitched himself as among the new crop of ultra MAGA candidates, ready to hog the limelight by spouting deranged nonsense and scoring endless headlines. But he never achieved the infamy of a Marjorie Taylor Greene or a Lauren Boebert. Nor could he replicate the older guard, like Matt Gaetz, who endorsed him on his election day, all as his own scandal — a federal investigation into his ties to a sex trafficking ring — continue.
What Cawthorn did accomplish, though, was enraging the entire GOP. It started with him claiming that Congress was full of cocaine and orgies. There soon followed one embarrassing leak after another: photos of the lawmaker, known for his rabid anti-LGBTQIA+ stance, in drag; videos of his crotch being touched by another man or dry-humping a man while naked in a hotel room.
Donald Trump, whose ring he no doubt sought, was reportedly turned off by these antics. Shortly before Tuesday’s election, the former president offered a half-hearted semi-endorsement that wouldn’t humiliate him too much if he lost.
But now Cawthorn is a lame duck, losing to Edwards, and his legacy is as a trainwreck who accomplished little but pissing off everyone, including allies, and offering lame taunts to Democrats. Speaking of, one old tweet, from Election Night 2020, resurfaced. “Cry more, lib,” it read.
Cry more, lib.
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) November 4, 2020
The tweet is dated from 9:24pm on Nov. 3, aka Election Night 2020. At that point in the evening, exit polls leaned in Trump’s favor. It betrays a misplaced optimism that would be squashed once an overwhelming amount of absentee ballots tipped it decisively towards now-president Joe Biden. He was due to assume office in two months. He had no idea voters would turn on him in only a year-and-change.
I've seen enough: Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) has lost renomination to state Sen. Chuck Edwards (R) in the #NC11 GOP primary.
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) May 18, 2022
That old, boastful tweet came back to bite him shortly after the primary was called for his successor.
https://twitter.com/MollyJongFast/status/1526741751817555970
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) May 18, 2022
Who's crying now? https://t.co/B6ugureGvB
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) May 18, 2022
You were saying? https://t.co/a8B2E5n53B
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) May 18, 2022
https://t.co/HCFkfm8A5J pic.twitter.com/kYsokIP6Iy
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) May 18, 2022
I did and it worked. https://t.co/gwme79ABdu
— Wampler™ (@ScottWamplerRIP) May 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/Esqueer_/status/1526743080325586945
Madison Cawthorne has just lost his primary and therefore his house seat. Better luck next time, bud! Here’s a message from us: https://t.co/Nrk9tPTPxC
— Gravel Institute (@GravelInstitute) May 18, 2022
WOMP WOMP https://t.co/iHKHV77DUb
— Christo Aivalis 🌹🍊 (@christoaivalis) May 18, 2022
This aged well. https://t.co/OWOdW3sbzx
— Tyson Whelan (@tyson_whelan) May 18, 2022
How it started. https://t.co/0Zl9P0qrfr
— Boris Kachka (@Borisk) May 18, 2022
Some tried to spin it as a chance for Cawthorn to redeem himself, to see the error of his ways.
Well, Madison, you lost.
I hope you take this time to reflect on your deplorable behavior and see it as an opportunity to be a better person.
I genuinely wish that for you. https://t.co/XvsDAHGJ70
— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) May 18, 2022
But he probably won’t. See you in the funny papers, Cawthorn. Or, more likely, on OAN.
(Via CNN)