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That leaves Davis, Bennett, Asheville’s Chuck Archerd and Hendersonville resident Madison Cawthorn as the only 11th District residents seeking the Republican nomination. Archerd actually ran “against” his friend Meadows in the 2018 Primary Election, pulling 13.7 percent of the vote, but said he’d hoped he’d lose and that he was only running in the event that Meadows might take a job with the administration of President Donald Trump. Cawthorn, age 24, has emerged as a surprisingly strong candidate, as evidenced by a recent appearance on the Fox & Friends television program. A motivational speaker and real estate investor, Cawthorn has just as many pros and cons as any other candidate, but voters will have to pick one of them to defend Meadows’ near-decade of dominance in a district that has been remapped, but still holds a 5 to 7 percent Republican advantage.
Madison Cawthorn
MADISON CAWTHORN
Chuck Archerd one difference between him and his Republican primary opponents. “I’m proud to be in a field of Republican candidates that all share pretty much the same values,” he said. “We’re all pro-gun. We’re pro-God or pro-family. At the end of the day we all want border security. There’s not a lot of distinction among us, but the thing that I think does distinguish me from the other candidates is that I believe I’m the party’s best chance, if not only chance, at winning in November.” That goes back to Cawthorn’s “message” versus “messenger” argument, especially with the recent addition of Ashville to the 11th Congressional District. “We need a candidate who can reach into urban Buncombe County and reach these young undecided voters,” he said. “To be quite frank with you, I really don’t believe that these candidates in the Republican field are able to
Smoky Mountain News
There’s no problem with the Republican message, says Madison Cawthorn, but there is a problem with the Republican messengers. “If you’re looking for a career politician, I’m definitely not your guy,” said Cawthorn. Born near the end of the “millennial” generation, Cawthorn is a great example of the fact that not all young voters today are liberals. “The biggest issue I’m concerned about is the rise of socialism, socialist sentiments, in the younger generation,” he said. “People are going so far left that I’m scared they’re gonna just destroy the America that we know unless we can convince them of the wisdom of conservatism.” Cawthorn cites the popularity of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal as well as the prominence of Sen. Bernie Sanders as examples. “At the end of the day, it’s a lot more government control,” said Cawthorn. “It’s a lot more taxes and it’s a lot less of the values and faith that built this country.” The reasons, he said, come from a changing society that no longer values hard work and personal responsibility. “Families in generations past had to work on farms, they had a lot of things they had to do,” he said. “Now, what I see in culture is that families are more socialist-based. I mean, the kids aren’t expected to do anything and then they point at something and say, ‘Mommy, I want that $1,000 phone’ and then they instantly get it. So when they are hit by the real world they see, ‘Oh, I don’t just get everything for free?’ To them that seems like it’s unfair, but in reality that’s just how the world works.” Cawthorn believes that there’s really only
February 12-18, 2020
BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER ast September at a Macon County GOP event, Franklin Republican and five-term Sen. Jim Davis announced that he wouldn’t be seeking re-election to his seat in the North Carolina General Assembly. After a short speech by Davis, party officials whisked an American flag off a handsome white rocking chair and presented it to Davis as a sign of gratitude for 10 years of service in Raleigh as well as 10 years of service as a Macon County commissioner. All it took to pull Davis out of that rocking chair was the surprise retirement of Asheville Republican Congressman Mark Meadows three months later. “They’re threatening to repossess the chair,” Davis joked at an event in Haywood County last week. The popular Meadows probably could have held the seat for as long as he wanted, especially given the racially gerrymandered district map that was struck down by courts last year, so as soon as news broke of Meadows’ decision one day before the end of the candidate filing period, a brief but intense period of high drama ensued; a dozen Republicans filed for the seat, seven of them from well outside the district itself. None of them expected to be running in the 11th Congressional District GOP primary this year — except for one. Haywood County real estate broker Lynda Bennett was the first to announce her candidacy with a press release issued just three hours after Meadows’ decision was revealed — not to any of the media outlets in his sprawling Western North Carolina district, but to national outlet Politico. Per Politico, the Asheville Tea PAC endorsed Bennett after a 6:15 a.m. conference call that same morning, before she’d even issued her press release. Bennett also had a campaign website already up and running, giving rise to speculation that Meadows hoped to circumvent the primary process and pass his seat directly to Bennett — her domain name was registered on Oct. 28, almost two full months before Meadows’ announcement. Quick and substantive support for Bennett from Meadows’ wife Debbie only served to bolster that speculation; also per Politico, N.C. 11th District GOP Chairman Aubrey Woodard said that his phone had been “ringing off the hook from people who [were] upset and discouraged” with Meadows’ apparent attempt to clear the field for Bennett. Nevertheless, three more candidates from within the 17-county 11th District ended up filing as well, with one, Asheville resident Matthew Burril, dropping out in short order on account of business opportunities.
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Republicans seek to maintain control of Meadows’ seat
compete in the new ‘town square.’” For better or worse, traditional political arenas like debates, forums, town halls, radio, television and print media are only part of the way candidates and elected officials communicate with their modern-day constituencies; as the only candidate raised in the internet age, Cawthorn thinks that gives him a distinct advantage. “I can also compete for the hearts and minds of younger Americans,” he said. “Whether that be on social media, on Instagram, on YouTube, with podcasts, with blog posts. I feel as if I’m very adept with social media, and so I feel like one of the things that distinguishes me is that not only can I reach the deep conservative base of Western North Carolina, but I can also reach undecided voters who just haven’t really been exposed to anybody who explains our ideals in a positive way that makes sense to them.” Were he to progress to the General Election in November, Cawthorn recognizes that he won’t get all the votes, especially from the hardcore left, but he still thinks his conservative message holds broad appeal. “I’m a conservative, and when I say that, I mean I want to conserve the power that Washington has. I want to get the dadgum government out of your life. I want you to have more money in your pocket and I want you to have less regulations telling you what you can and cannot do,” he said. “I want you to be able to live your life. No government bureaucrats should be telling you what you can and cannot do in your life.” A strong anti-tax position is central to Cawthorn’s platform, something he thinks could swing enough votes to send him to Washington. “We’re taxed on the money we make, we’re taxed on the things that we buy and then we’re taxed if we want to keep those things and hell, we’re taxed when we die with a death tax,” he said. “So at the end of the day, I think that my message really appeals to a lot of Americans because I just want to make sure that we are safe, that we’re not getting shot at, that our economy is good and our taxes are low so you have a safe place to raise your family and you have a lot of money so that you can prosper and have a great life.” If Madison Cawthorn becomes Rep. Cawthorn this November, he said he’d be honored to be asked to join the influential House Freedom Caucus, an asymmetrical center of power within — and sometimes standing in opposition to — the greater Republican membership in the House. Meadows recently stepped down as chair of the HFC, but deftly utilized the HFC over the years to exercise greater than expected influence. “As a freshman Congressman there, you won’t have a lot of power, especially being a true conservative, even in the Republican party,” Cawthorn said. “I would feel like I was the minority so being able to combine my punching power with other conservatives who share my viewpoints, I feel like is a wise thing and it’s the best thing for Western North Carolina.”
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