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Madison Cawthorn
Madison Cawthorn is 24 and describes himself as a constitutional conservative
A political newcomer has defeated the candidate approved by US President Donald Trump to win a Republican congressional primary in North Carolina
Madison Cawthorn beat Lynda Bennett to become the party’s nominee in November’s race for the state’s 11th Congressional District.
The motivational speaker and real estate investor turns 25, the minimum age to serve in Congress, in August.
He will face Democratic candidate Moe Davis, a former US Air Force colonel.
Ms Bennett has not yet conceded the race, but the North Carolina Republican Party congratulated Mr Cawthorn on his victory.
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The district’s previous representative, Mark Meadows, resigned in March to become the president’s chief of staff.
Mr Cawthorn, who uses a wheelchair after being involved in a car accident in 2014, won Tuesday’s vote despite high-level endorsements for his opponent.
“Please let this serve as my Complete and Total Endorsement of a great fighter and ally in North Carolina,” the president wrote of Ms Bennett earlier this month, adding that she would “be a great help to me in DC”.
Mr Meadows had also lent his backing to Ms Bennett.
But it was this support that Mr Cawthorn attacked during the campaign. He criticised his opponent for refusing to take part in debates, saying in one video that he would not “cower behind big-name endorsements”.
Mr Cawthorn does, however, also support Mr Trump.
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North Carolina is due to host the Republican party’s national convention in August, but Mr Trump threatened to move the event if restrictions were placed on attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Presidential hopefuls do not become official candidates until each party’s nominations for president and vice-president are announced at their national convention, and so these events are a key part of the election process ahead of nationwide voting on 3 November.
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