Meet the youngest US congressional member: GOP's 25-year-old Madison Cawthorn
RALEIGH, N.C. (NEXSTAR) — Republican rising star Madison Cawthorn has been elected to represent a U.S. House district in North Carolina, becoming one of the youngest people to ever serve in the U.S. Congress.
The 25-year-old bested retired U.S. Air Force Col. Moe Davis, a Democrat. He will fill an 11th Congressional District seat vacated by Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, who left to serve as President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
Cawthorn, the youngest Republican ever elected to the House, first drew attention after securing a surprise victory over Republican Lynda Bennett, Trump’s preferred candidate, in a June GOP primary runoff.
Cawthorn, whose campaign had been dogged by allegations of racism, has positioned himself as highly conservative on issues including abortion and racial justice.
After he won Tuesday, he sent a tweet saying, “Cry more, lib.” The post follows other tweets sent last week insulting Davis. In one, he called him "the biggest simp in politics."
Cawthorn, a real estate investor who turned 25 in August, just met the minimum age to run for the House seat. Currently, the youngest member of Congress is 31-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, who won her seat in 2018 shortly after she turned 29.
During a speech at the Republican National Convention in August, Cawthorn touched on his age and the 2014 car accident that left him partially paralyzed, among other topics.
“If you don’t think young people can change the world, then you just don’t know American history,” he told the RNC crowd.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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