Mounting scandals fuel uncertainty over Cawthorn’s reelection

The flood of controversies surrounding Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) shows no sign of ceasing just weeks before his May 17 primary, raising questions as to whether he can avoid a runoff despite being one of the highest-profile freshmen in the House.  

Cawthorn in the past week alone has been hit with a slew of bad headlines and is now facing calls for an ethics investigation into alleged insider trading by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), who is also backing a primary challenge against Cawthorn. 

The mounting scandals put Cawthorn’s reelection bid on increasingly uneven footing and have fueled uncertainty over how voters will break. While Cawthorn boasts broad name recognition and the advantage of incumbency, he’s consistently handed his critics ammunition – albeit with a limited runway for them to saturate voters’ minds with the controversies and make themselves known.  

“I just think that there are so many moving parts to this drama that will play out on May 17. I’m not real sure anybody’s got a clear crystal ball to make a prediction one way or the other,” said Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer.  

“It is clear as mud, as we say down here,” he added. “I would not try and venture a guess either way. I’d rather go buy a lottery ticket and hope to retire at the end of week.” 

Cawthorn first shook up his primary race last year when he announced he would switch districts to run elsewhere only to return to campaign for his original seat after redistricting. But uncertainty over his electoral prospects spiked earlier this year after he spoke of “sexual perversion” in Congress and claimed other lawmakers invited him to cocaine-fueled orgies. 

The North Carolinian has seemingly been in news headlines weekly since then, drawing rebukes for driving with a revoked license; two attempts to bring a loaded gun through airport security; allegations of sexual harassment; calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug;” reportedly denying a staffer leave when two family members passed away within the same week and more. 

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