Rep. Madison Cawthorn did the ‘right thing’ by conceding, RNC chair says

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said Sunday that Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who lost his Republican primary in North Carolina last week to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, did the “right thing by conceding.”

McDaniel said on “Fox News Sunday” that the Republican primary in North Carolina “was a very well fought” one. “Madison had some issues that came out,” she said. “He was a rising star in our party and we need to make sure we retain that seat with Edwards, who defeated him.”

Cawthorn, who had the backing of former President Donald Trump, had faced a number of controversies and scandals in the months leading up to the primary.

The 26-year-old Republican candidate was accused of sexual harassment by former college classmates last year, charged with driving with a revoked license. He’s called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyya a “thug” and said the Ukrainian government was “evil.”

He also alleged that he had been invited to orgies by Washington lawmakers and accused some of doing cocaine. Pictures of him wearing lingerie and partying also recently came to light [Politico].

Following Tuesday’s primary, Cawthorn took to Instagram to pin the loss on the establishment and promote a call to action for “Dark MAGA.”

“It’s time for the rise of the new right, it’s time for Dark MAGA to truly take command,” Cawthorn said in an Instagram post. “We have an enemy to defeat, but we will never be able to defeat them until we defeat the cowardly and weak members of our own party. Their days are numbered. We are coming,” he wrote.

But McDaniel said she didn’t know what Cawthorn’s statement meant. “I don’t know what “Dark MAGA” is,” McDaniel said on Fox News Sunday. “It sounds like the Star Wars thing, like the dark side of the force. I don’t know. I don’t know what that is” [Business Insider].