A federal appeals court on Tuesday questioned whether a lower court got it right when it blocked a challenge of North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s candidacy by voters who cited a section of the Constitution addressing insurrection as disqualifying him.
Three judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, heard arguments in a lawsuit that the first-term Republican congressman filed to derail the formal challenge sent to the State Board of Elections from going forward.
U.S. District Judge Richard Myers ruled for Cawthorn in March and prevented the board from formally examining whether he should remain on ballots, and the voters appealed. Cawthorn is one of eight candidates on the May 17 primary ballot for the 11th Congressional District. There's no timetable on when the judicial panel will rule, but the court did accelerate the appeal process.
