Madison Cawthorn Loses Re-Election Bid

Scandal-plagued congressman Madison Cawthorn won't be returning to the House of Representatives for a second term. The 26-year-old on Tuesday night conceded his race for re-election in North Carolina to Chuck Edwards, a state senator supported by many of the state's establishment Republicans, NBC News reports. The AP later projected the race for Edwards, the Hill reports. Edwards won about a third of the vote, and will advance to November's general election, where he's likely to face off with Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who had a strong lead in the Democratic primary. North Carolina's 11th District leans heavily conservative, with Donald Trump winning it by 10 percentage points.

"I received a call from Congressman Cawthorn just a few of minutes ago. Just as I expected, he presented himself in a very classy and humble way and offered his support to our campaign in absolutely anyway that we can use him," Edwards said, per CNN. Cawthorn's loss is "fantastic news for America and particularly for the reputation, self-esteem and prestige of the district,” said anti-Trump Republican consultant Liz Mair. “There are so many people there who are so massively embarrassed by [Cawthorn] that it’s just off the charts." (Trump had offered an eleventh-hour endorsement of Cawthorn.)