Former GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who made headlines as one of Congress's youngest members before a bruising primary defeat in North Carolina in 2022, is plotting his return—this time from Florida. Cawthorn, now 30, tells Fox News he's running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Byron Donalds in a reliably Republican district in southwest Florida. He says he had been "juggling" the idea since Donalds announced in February that he would run for governor instead of seeking re-election, and "after Charlie Kirk's assassination, I knew that there was really no option. I've decided to run for Congress again."
He says he was "railroaded out of Washington, DC, by the radical left" and members of his own party for telling the "truth." Cawthorn's comeback effort comes after a turbulent first term in Washington, where he quickly rose to prominence as a GOP up-and-comer but saw his star fade amid controversies. He claimed lawmakers had invited him to orgies and that he'd seen colleagues do cocaine, though he later said his claims were exaggerated. His many personal scandals included sexual harassment allegations from dozens of former college classmates and run-ins with the law. He was arrested again last month for missing a court date over a traffic violation, which he blames on a "mixup."
Despite President Trump's endorsement of him for a second term in 2022—Trump called Cawthorn's missteps "foolish mistakes" and urged voters to give him another chance—GOP primary voters in North Carolina's 11th District opted for an establishment-backed candidate, state Sen. Chuck Edwards, NBC News reports. After his defeat, a defiant Cawthorn said it was "time for Dark MAGA to truly take command." At least six other Republicans intend to run in the primary in Florida's 19th District next year, per Ballotpedia. The top fundraiser so far is another politician who has moved to Florida from elsewhere, former Illinois state Sen. Jim Oberweis.
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