Here's How Madison Cawthorn Just Made History
Madison Cawthorn, who has been running against Democrat Moe Davis for a seat in Congress representing North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, has just made history by becoming the youngest person elected to the House in modern U.S. history at the ripe old age of 25. According to projections, Cawthorn, who ran on a conservative platform that opposes abortion and supports Trump's views on immigration and gun laws, has won the seat. Previously, the record was held by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, whose 2018 win made her the youngest elected member at 29 (she still holds the title of youngest elected woman) (via TMZ).
The youngest-ever member of Congress was William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee, who was elected in 1797 at the age of 22. Interestingly, Cawthorn cited AOC as inspiration for running. He wrote on his website that he was running because "our faith, our freedoms and our values are under assault from coastal elites and leftists like Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" (via CNN).
In response to the news that he had won the seat, Cawthorn sent out a very-Trump tweet, saying simply, "Cry more, lib."
Cawthorn overcame a tragic accident and controversy to win
Before entering into politics, Cawthorn, who was partially paralyzed in a 2014 car accident, worked as a motivational speaker discussing how he has overcome the challenges to lead a meaningful and impassioned life. He is also the owner of a real estate investment company.
According to CNN, his short political career has been wrought with controversy. Over the summer, he came under fire for photos on his Instagram page that showed him visiting Adolf Hitler's vacation house called "Eagle's Nest" in 2017. The caption called Hitler "the Fuhrer" and stated that the locale had been on his "bucket list for a while," and that it "did not disappoint." Cawthorn's opponent Moe Davis was quick to jump on this as proof that the young congressional hopeful was a white nationalist, and many online agreed. Cawthorn, however, quickly came out to denounce white nationalism, saying, "I completely and wholeheartedly denounce any kind of white nationalism, any kind of Nazism. We fought a war where the American people went to war to end the scourge of Nazism across this country and I'm very thankful for that because it's evil and it's vile."
In the fall, another controversy clipped at Cawthorn's heels when 150 of his former classmates from Patrick Henry College signed a public letter claiming he had engaged in "sexually predatory behavior," vandalism, and lying while a student and was therefore unfit for congress or as a representative of the conservative Christian school (via Blue Ridge Public Radio).