WELL, I NEVER

Madison Cawthorn Sues North Carolina Election Officials Over Bid to Keep Him Off Ballot

His candidacy has been challenged over his involvement in the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has filed suit against members of the North Carolina Board of Elections over an attempt to deem him ineligible to run for re-election based on his involvement in a Jan. 6 rally before the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The original challenge to the 26-year-old candidacy was filed by a group of voters last month, who asked election officials to block Cawthorn from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prevents people who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office. In his Tuesday filing, Cawthorn denied that he had participated in an insurrection or rebellion. “Running for office is not only a great privilege, it is a right protected under the Constitution,” the congressman said in his suit. “I love this country and have never engaged in, or would ever engage in, an insurrection against the United States.” Cawthorn’s role at the “Stop the Steal” rally last year involved speaking to a crowd of Trump supporters, whom he urged to “be strong,” saying that “you’ll never take back our country with weakness.”