Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn will run for Congress in southwest Florida next year, the 30-year-old Republican announced Wednesday.
Cawthorn, who represented North Carolina’s 11th congressional district from 2021-2023, was defeated by Rep. Chuck Edwards in the 2022 GOP primary after a term plagued by a litany of high-profile scandals. He has been registered to vote in Florida since 2023, according to state voter rolls.
Cawthorn also repeatedly maligned his Republican colleagues in Congress, alleging without evidence that some had invited him to cocaine-fueled sex parties. He was also the subject of a leaked video and sexual misconduct and insider trading allegations, and repeatedly brought a handgun to an airport.
Cawthorn will join a crowded GOP primary to fill the deep red seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, who is running for governor in Florida.
“I’m running for Congress to stand with President Trump, defend our conservative values, and fight to stop the radical left every single time,” Cawthorn said in a campaign launch video posted Wednesday.
The former lawmaker drew sharp condemnations during his single congressional term for inflammatory comments on a wide range of issues, including his insistence after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot that “If our election systems continue to be rigged, and continue to be stolen, it’s going to lead to one place, and it’s bloodshed.”
Cawthorn has also had several run-ins with the law: in 2022, the Republican was arrested for driving while his license was revoked and detained at a North Carolina airport for attempting to bring a gun on a commercial flight. And last month, he was once again arrested in Florida after allegedly missing a court date related to allegedly driving without an active license.
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