RALEIGH, N.C. — Rep. Madison Cawthorn knocked off a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump and Mark Meadows en route to his seat in Congress.
Now the young conservative could shake up the North Carolina congressional delegation once again.
In the political map approved by Republican state lawmakers last week, Cawthorn is the incumbent in the 14th Congressional District. But he told Republican leaders in his current Western North Carolina district that he is instead considering running in the 13th Congressional District — one that most political observers thought had been drawn for North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore.
“I think he’s leaning toward it, if it’s a feasible thing,” said Lee Emerson, chairman of the Polk County GOP, in a telephone interview Wednesday night.
The 13th District includes the western part of Mecklenburg County and all of Polk, Rutherford, McDowell, Burke, Gaston and Cleveland counties. Moore is from Cleveland County.
Cawthorn’s current 11th District includes most of the new 14th District, but some parts of the new 13th District. Cawthorn lives in Henderson County, which is in the new 14th. But, unlike state lawmakers, congressional candidates do not have to live in the district they are running in.
The move would be a surprise and could set up a potential blockbuster of a GOP primary between Cawthorn, a national name in the Republican Party, and Moore, who has served as speaker of the House for the better part of a decade.
Cawthorn said on the call that he could take the weekend to decide. A decision could come before Monday.
A spokesperson for Cawthorn didn’t return phone and text messages from The Charlotte Observer and News & Observer.
“He’s contemplating it. He may be leaning towards it,” said Michele Woodhouse, the chairwoman of the 11th District GOP. She organized the call Wednesday night at Cawthorn’s request, she said.
Woodhouse said “there hadn’t really been any kind of Republican buzz or gossip about it at all.” Emerson said people on the call “were probably a little bit shell-shocked.”
Both the new 13th and 14th districts are Republican-leaning districts. Analysis by The Cook Political Report says Republicans would be expected to win the 13th District by 13 percentage points and the 14th District by 7 points. The 14th District may be more likely to turn toward Democrats later in the decade due to population changes — a consideration given Cawthorn’s age.
He is 26, and his election in 2020 made him the youngest member of Congress.
Emerson said Cawthorn — who has not been shy about calling out the political left — “is tired of getting assassination threats every single day.” Cawthorn was recently married and plans to have children, Emerson said.
Immediately after winning his GOP primary runoff in 2020, Cawthorn was embraced by Trump, and the congressman has been a staunch supporter of the former president. He spoke at Trump’s rally on Jan. 6 in Washington, using fiery language that has become a Cawthorn staple. More recently, Cawthorn predicted “bloodshed” if an election is “stolen” again.
Several Republicans have said they plan to run against Cawthorn in the primary in the 14th District, and several Democrats have jumped into the race, as well.
Former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Karen Bentley, a Republican, has filed to run in the 13th District.
Moore has not yet announced his intentions.
———
