Trump-backed Rep. Madison Cawthorn concedes North Carolina GOP main

Rep. Madison Cawthorn speaks before a rally for former U.S. President Donald Trump at The Farm at 95 on April 9, 2022 in Selma, North Carolina.

Allison Joyce | Getty Pictures

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the scandal-prone freshman lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump, conceded defeat in his Republican primary election on Tuesday evening.

Cawthorn called state Sen. Chuck Edwards to concede the race, the congressman's spokesman advised reporters. Edwards had been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

NBC Information projected Edwards as the first winner in the state's eleventh Congressional District on Tuesday evening. He led the race with more than 33% of the vote, in contrast with roughly 32% for Cawthorn.

"Congratulations to @ChuckEdwards4NC on securing the nomination tonight," Cawthorn stated in a tweet. "It's time for the NC-11 GOP to rally behind the Republican ticket to defeat the Democrats' nominee this November."

North Carolina voters on Tuesday had already decided who will compete in one of this 12 months's critical U.S. Senate races: Rep. Ted Budd will win the Republican Senate major in the race to fill the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr, NBC projected.

Budd is backed both by Trump and the influential conservative group Club for Development. He will face off in the general election towards Cheri Beasley, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Courtroom, who NBC projected would handily clinch the Democratic nomination.

The swing-state contest is one of a handful that may determine whether Democrats keep their majority within the Senate break up 50-50 by party. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tiebreaking vote for Democrats.

Cawthorn is one in all 13 U.S. House members from North Carolina. Now 26 years old, Cawthorn was the youngest member of Congress when he was elected in 2020. His seat, which was beforehand held by ex-Trump chief of employees Mark Meadows, is a safe Republican district.

However, the first-term lawmaker's reelection bid turned one of many state's most-watched major races, due to a wide range of scandals and missteps that spurred harsh criticism — even from some Republicans.

The controversies swirling around Cawthorn embody: making claims about different lawmakers doing illicit medication and alluring him to orgies; driving with a revoked license; bringing a loaded handgun to an airport; being eyed by ethics watchdogs over suspicions about doable insider trading associated to a meme cryptocurrency; calling Ukraine's president a "thug" amid an invasion by Russia; and others.

Tillis came out swinging against Cawthorn. He endorsed Edwards, a high rival within the GOP primary. A political motion committee affiliated with Tillis reportedly spent more than $300,000 on adverts attacking Cawthorn. And after the watchdogs raised concerns of possible insider buying and selling, Tillis openly called for a congressional ethics investigation into Cawthorn.

Trump, in the meantime, defended Cawthorn in a social media submit over the weekend.

"Lately, he made some foolish errors, which I do not consider he'll make again," Trump mentioned of Cawthorn, including, "Let's give Madison a second probability!"

Requested by NBC Information about Trump's submit, Tillis replied, "Technically, that is the sixth or seventh likelihood."

"He hasn't learned from a mistake he's made during the last year," the senator mentioned of Cawthorn.