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FIRST ON FOX: Former North Carolina Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn announced he will be running for Florida’s 19th congressional seat on Wednesday during a phone call with Fox News Digital.
Cawthorn pointed to the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a core reason behind him returning to the political scene, though the 30-year-old former congressman said he had been “juggling” the idea of running for congress since Florida’s 19th District Representative Byron Donalds announced he would be vacating the seat to run for governor.
“After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I knew that there was really no option. I’ve decided to run for Congress again,” Cawthorn told Fox News Digital. “I want to make sure [the people of Florida] have amazing representation in Washington, D.C., because I know exactly what happens in the swamp.”
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“There’s so many people that take advantage of freshman [members],” Cawtorn continued. “And I think that I’m the right man for the job.”
Cawthorn also told Fox his experience with hurricane relief in the district, which includes Naples, Cape Coral, Ft. Myers and Marco Island, as well as seeing the community come together also inspired his decision to run.
Madison Cawthorn was the youngest congressman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives since 1964, and was defeated by Rep. Chuck Edwards in the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 11th congressional district after serving one term from 2021 to 2023.
Cawthorn was embattled with various controversies at the end of his term, including pleading guilty to possessing a dangerous weapon at a Charlotte airport in April 2022, and in May 2022, a scandalous video of Cawthorn showed him “thrusting” at another individual. Cawthorn responded by saying the video was old, and he was “being crass with a friend” at the time.
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The young Congressman also faced accusations from both Republicans and Democrats during his time in office, with some saying he violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose ownership of crypto stock.
Cawthorn himself claimed that members of congress invited him to orgies and regularly did cocaine around him. Former House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy reportedly scolded Cawthorn for such comments, and Cawthorn later admitted his claims were “exaggerated.”
As for the scandals and legal trouble Cawthorn faced during his term, he told Fox News Digital he got “railroaded out of Washington, D.C., by the radical left and members of [his] own party” for telling “the truth” about the city.
“You can start looking at things that happened months after I left, and I think it proves the things I was talking about,” Cawthorn told Fox. “There’s a lot of people in Washington, D.C., who enjoy just having talking points” that members have used for “decades and decades.”
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Cawthorn was also recently arrested in Florida early last month for failing to appear in court for a traffic citation. The newly announced congressional candidate said it was simply a “mixup about court timings” and that he and his legal team “fully expect this case is going to go in a positive direction.”
“It was a simple mistake, whether through scheduling or a mishap in changing schedules,” Cawthorn added.
Despite scandals and accusations, the young former congressman now candidate, told Fox “it’s about time we have a legislative branch that’s willing to fight.”
“If you want someone who is going to go to Washington, D.C., to be swayed by outside money, [who is] just going to fade off into the swamp until they die in office… I’m not your guy,” Cawthorn explained. “But if you want someone who is going to fight for the values that conservatives truly believe in, who is going to pursue morals and ethics… then I’m your guy.”
Primary election day for the seat is set for August 18, 2021, and, as of today, Cawthorn will face 5 GOP candidates who have already filed to run for Florida’s 19th congressional district.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston
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