Rep. Madison Cawthorn at the Capitol on May 14, 2021. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
03/31/2022 06:44 PM EDT
Rep. Madison Cawthorn showed up in person for a primary challenger to one of his House GOP colleagues Wednesday night — just as fellow Republicans started suggesting he’s the next incumbent under threat.
The North Carolina conservative appeared alongside other House Republicans at a fundraiser for Harriet Hageman, the Trump-backed opponent of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). It’s not clear if Cawthorn knew how conspicuous that choice was, with Republicans still seething over his claims about “sexual perversion” in Washington.
And Cawthorn’s own GOP colleagues spent some of the fundraiser, feet away, quietly joking at his expense, according to people in the room.
The uncomfortable moment illustrates the awkward position Cawthorn now finds himself in. After riding out multiple waves of mini-controversies over past comments and behavior, he now seems doused by a political tsunami after alleging on a podcast that some of his colleagues attend orgies and use cocaine.
“I’m looking at somebody who is going to best represent [Western North Carolina], and I’ve concluded Mr. Cawthorn is not that person,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said in a brief interview, adding that he’s endorsed an incumbent’s primary challenger for “the first time in my political career … because I feel that strongly about it.”
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