The battle for western North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District has drawn both national attention and record fundraising, according to local reports.
“Fundraising for Western North Carolina’s 11th District U.S. House race has hit a record $4.4 million, with Republican candidate Madison Cawthorn doubling Democrat Moe Davis’ money,” the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. According to numbers offered to the Citizen-Times by both campaigns, Cawthorn raised $2.2 million from July 1 to Sept. 30, which left the 25-year-old candidate with a total of $2.8 million for the election cycle.
By contrast, his Democratic opponent Davis raised $1.1 million in the third quarter and $1.6 million altogether.
The contentious race between Cawthorn and Davis shattered the record set before by the congressional race of 2006, which had been the most expensive contest that North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District had ever seen. As the Citizen-Times reported, “Democrat Heath Shuler collected $1.85 million in his defeat of incumbent Republican Charles Taylor, who raised $1.6 million, according to numbers from Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper. In that contest, Taylor loaned his campaign an additional $2.8 million.”
Cawthorn, who was catapulted to national prominence after he defeated Trump-backed GOP candidate Lynda Bennett in a run-off primary election, will be the youngest member of Congress if he wins in November. After his unexpected victory, he spoke at the Republican National Convention.
As The Daily Wire reported of his speech:
Cawthorn began by mentioning the terrible car accident that robbed him of the use of his legs, saying, “Instantly, my hopes and dreams were seemingly destroyed. I was given a 1% chance of surviving. But thanks to the power of prayer, a very loving community, and many skilled doctors, I made it.”
“My accident has given me new eyes to see and new ears to hear. God protected my mind and my ability to speak, so I say to people who feel forgotten, ignored, and invisible: I see you. I hear you,” Cawthorn stated.
As The Daily Wire also reported, the 11th District’s race has led to violence:
Far-left Antifa activists allegedly vandalized the home of Republican congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn and a county GOP office in North Carolina early on Thursday.
“At 4:55am last morning, activists from far-left fringe Antifa groups acted on the aggressive rhetoric of my opponent and committed gross acts of vandalism and destruction of property across this district,” Cawthorn posted Saturday on Facebook. “My opponent’s strike force inflicted thousands of dollars of damage to both public and private property.”
“The Henderson County GOP office, which was defaced with graffiti, many businesses, and local homes who displayed support for both my candidacy and other Republicans were attacked and their signs defaced,” Cawthorn continued. “Personally, my home was targeted and my property vandalized by thugs acting in support of my opponent’s vision for this district. These left-wing enforcers spray-painted threats of violence and echoed my opponent’s words, as they symbolically crushed my neck and head on each sign deposited on my property.”