Wikipedia

Madison Cawthorn

American politician (born 1995)

David Madison Cawthorn (born August 1, 1995) is an American politician. He is a member of the Republican Party. Cawthorn was the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district from 2021 to 2023.[1]

Madison Cawthorn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 11th district
In office
January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byMark Meadows
Succeeded byChuck Edwards
Personal details
Born
David Madison Cawthorn

(1995-08-01) August 1, 1995 (age 29)
Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Cristina Bayardelle
​
​
(m. 2020; sep. 2021)​
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

During his time in Congress, he was the youngest member of Congress since Jed Johnson Jr.[2] He lost renomination in 2022.[3]

Early life

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Cawthorn was born on August 1, 1995,[4] in Asheville, North Carolina, to Priscilla and Roger Cawthorn.[5] He was home-schooled in Hendersonville, North Carolina.[6][7] As a teenager, he worked at a Chick-fil-A restaurant.[8]

U.S. Representative Mark Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the United States Naval Academy in 2014, but his application was rejected.[9][10][11]

During the fall 2016 semester, Cawthorn went to Patrick Henry College, studying political science, but after having bad grades, he dropped out.[12] At the time he dropped out of college, he was engaged, but his fiancée left him.[13]

From January 2015 to August 2016, Cawthorn worked as a staff assistant in Representative Mark Meadows's district office.[14]

Congressional career

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In the March 2020 Republican primary for North Carolina's 11th congressional district, Cawthorn finished second behind Lynda Bennett, who was supported by both President Donald Trump and Cawthorn's former mentor,[15] Mark Meadows, who had become White House Chief of Staff.[16] But Bennett did not win the required 30% of the vote to avoid a runoff and Cawthorn won the June runoff in a landslide victory.[17] His victory has been called an upset.[18][19]

 
Cawthorn in June 2021

His time in congress was very controversial. He was accused of insider trading, improper payments, a leaked nude video, and claimed that other congressmen invited him to orgies and to use cocaine.[20]

 
Cawthorn in December 2021

Before Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, Cawthorn said that the crowd "had some fight."[21] He voted not to certify the Electoral College results in Congress and called Republicans who voted to certify the results "spineless cowards".

He supported the false conspiracy theories that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. After the riots, Cawthorn later criticized the Trump supporters and said, "The party as a whole should have been much more wise about their choice of words."[22] He later tried to blame the riots on Democrats.[23]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Cawthorn called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug" and said "the Ukrainian government is corrupt and incredibly evil".[24] Many Republicans criticized him and said he was spreading pro-Russian propaganda.[25]

On May 17, 2022, Cawthorn lost renomination to Chuck Edwards, a state senator by a 33.4% to 31.9% vote margin.[3]

Personal life

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Cawthorn speaking in December 2020

In 2014, at age 18, Cawthorn was seriously injured while returning from a spring-break trip to Florida. The car he was in crashed into a concrete barrier while Cawthorn's feet were on the dashboard.[26][27] The accident left him paralyzed.[28]

Cawthorn married Cristina Bayardelle, an athlete,[29][30] in 2020.[31] In December 2021, Cawthorn announced they were getting divorced.[32]

Cawthorn said that he trained in wheelchair racing for the 2020 Summer Paralympics, but never competed at a qualifying level and was not involved in a team.[33][34]

In August 2020, during Cawthorn's campaign for Congress, many women accused him of sexual misconduct, and sexual assault.[35][36]

References

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  1. ↑ "North Carolina Election Results: 11th Congressional District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  2. ↑ "Madison Cawthorn: America's Youngest Congressman Since 1965". BBC. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Panetta, Grace; DeChalus, Camila; Griffiths, Brent D. "Rep. Madison Cawthorn ousted from office amid scandals and opposition from his own party". Business Insider. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Cawthorn, Madison". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ Nicholas, Angela (October 11, 2018). "Home of the Week: Accessible but charming Flat Rock cottage". Asheville Citizen Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ Brown, Jon (May 15, 2020). "Madison Cawthorn: The fighter". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. ↑ Multiple sources:
  8. ↑ Fiedler, Tom (August 12, 2020). "Madison Cawthorn's claim about Naval Academy creates false impression". Asheville Citizen-Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  9. ↑ Moon, Paul (August 20, 2020). "Women come forward to accuse Madison Cawthorn of aggressive sexual behavior". Asheville Citizen-Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  10. ↑ Le, John (August 12, 2020). "Madison Cawthorn responds to report that he misled people about his past". ABC 13 News WLOS. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ Baird, Addy; Sacks, Brianna (February 26, 2021). ""Danger Warning": Women Say Madison Cawthorn Harassed Them In College". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Madison Cawthorn deposition, from his lawsuit against Auto-Owners Insurance". United States District Court, Middle District Of Florida, Orlando Division. November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2021 – via Scribd.
  13. ↑ Fiedler, Tom (August 11, 2020). "Candidate's claim creates false impression". AVL Watchdog. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  14. ↑ Burgess, Joel (October 12, 2020). "Madison Cawthorn said he worked full-time for Mark Meadows; record says he didn't". The Asheville Citizen Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  15. ↑ Wong, Scott (June 24, 2020). "Pence confidant helps 24-year-old beat Trump-backed candidate". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020.
  16. ↑ Zanona, Melanie (June 25, 2020). "A Cawthorn in Trump's Side". Politico. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020.
  17. ↑ "NC SBE Contest Results". North Carolina Board of Elections. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  18. ↑ Fandos, Nicholas (June 23, 2020). "Madison Cawthorn, 24, Upsets Trump-Endorsed Favorite in North Carolina". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  19. ↑ Oprysko, Caitlin (June 24, 2020). "Trump congratulates 24-year-old who upset White House's chosen candidate in N.C. runoff". Politico. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  20. ↑ Bowman, Emma (May 2, 2022). "Rep. Madison Cawthorn is under mounting pressure from scandals ahead of midterms". NPR. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  21. ↑ Pellicer, Lauren (January 6, 2021). "NC Congressional Delegates React To Violence As Pro-Trump Mob Storms US Capitol". Blue Ridge Public Radio. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Cawthorn expresses concern about election fraud claims after earlier stoking them". Politico. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  23. ↑ Lewis, Peter (January 19, 2021). "Cawthorn blamed 'Democratic machine' for riots, calls intensify for congressman to resign". Asheville Citizen-Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  24. ↑ Anderson, Bryan; Fain, Travis (March 10, 2022). "US Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls Ukrainian president a 'thug'". WRAL. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  25. ↑ Kilander, Gustaf (March 11, 2022). "Madison Cawthorn calls Zelensky a 'thug' and Ukrainian government 'woke' and 'evil'". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  26. ↑ United States District Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (October 25, 2019). "David Madison Cawthorn v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company". Justia Law. No. 18-12067 (11th Cir. 2019). Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Cawthorn v. Auto-Owners Ins". Leagle. Case No. 6:16-cv-2240... | Leagle.com 20180509902. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  28. ↑ Sprunt, Barbara (June 24, 2020). "24-Year-Old Easily Tops President Trump's Pick In N.C. Republican Primary". NPR. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  29. ↑ Stimson, Brie (June 24, 2020). "Who is Madison Cawthorn?". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  30. ↑ Farrell, Paul (June 24, 2020). "Cristina Bayardelle: GOP Rising Star Madison Cawthorn Is Engaged to CrossFit Star". Heavy. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  31. ↑ Neumann, Sean (April 5, 2021). "GOP Lightning Rod Madison Cawthorn Gets Married on the Anniversary of 2014 Car Accident". PEOPLE.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  32. ↑ Kurtz, Judy (December 22, 2021). "Rep. Madison Cawthorn and wife to divorce". The Hill. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  33. ↑ Luterman, Sara (January 22, 2021). "The Ignominious Deceits of Congressman Cawthorn". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  34. ↑ Bromberg, Nick (January 22, 2021). "How much did Rep. Madison Cawthorn exaggerate his Paralympic quest in 'absurd' social media claims?". sports.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  35. ↑ Genovese, Daniella (August 26, 2020). "RNC speakers: What to know about Madison Cawthorn". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  36. ↑ Moon, Paul (November 3, 2020). "Women come forward to accuse Madison Cawthorn of aggressive sexual behavior". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved November 18, 2020.[permanent dead link]

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