At age 24, N.C. Congress runoff victor may be rising star
RALEIGH, N.C. — After nearly dying in a car crash six years ago, western North Carolina congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn already has learned many life lessons by age 24.
“There is no time to wait,” Cawthorn said in a recent interview. “Life is precious and it can be taken away at any time.”
So when Rep. Mark Meadows shocked Republican activists by announcing the day before filing ended in December that he wouldn’t run, Cawthorn jumped in the race at the last minute to succeed him. Now Cawthorn’s the one who’s jolted the political establishment, winning the GOP nomination in a Tuesday runoff by soundly beating the candidate endorsed by both Trump and Meadows, who is now the president’s chief of staff.
Cawthorn, who now uses a wheelchair because he’s partially paralyzed, has built a strong following rapidly with a compelling story, a Libertarian-style focus on freedom and hopes among Republicans that he can attract millennial voters.