People mark their ballots at the polling station during the primary election in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 17, 2022.
Jonathan Drake Reuters
The polls ended on Tuesday in the North Carolina primary, where Republican Madison Kothorn hopes to withstand a cascade of negative press to win her party’s nomination for a second term in Congress.
Voters in the state have also decided who will run in one of several races that will determine which party controls the US Senate next year.
North Carolina’s Ted Bud will win the Republican Senate primary in the race for Republican Sen. Richard Burr, NBC News predicts. Bud is backed by both former President Donald Trump and the influential conservative group Club for Growth.
He will face Cherry Beasley, the former chief judge of the North Carolina Supreme Court, in the general election, which NBC predicts will easily win the Democratic nomination.
Coutorne, who is also backed by Trump, is one of 13 members of the US House of Representatives from North Carolina. His place, formerly held by former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, is a safe Republican area. Nevertheless, the re-election of the first-term MP has become one of the most watched primary competitions in the state, thanks to a wide range of scandals and wrongdoing that has drawn sharp criticism – even from some Republicans.
The controversy surrounding Cawthorn includes: allegations about other lawmakers making drugs and inviting him to orgies; driving with a revoked license; bringing a loaded pistol to the airport; be monitored by ethics observers on suspicion of possible trading in inside information related to the cryptocurrency meme; calls the Ukrainian president a “thug” amid Russia’s invasion; and other.
Senator Tom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, backed U.S. Sen. Chuck Edwards, Coutorne’s biggest rival in the Republican primary.
If no candidate wins more than 30% of the vote, the first two will go to the polls in July.
Trump defended Coutorne in a post on social media over the weekend.
“He made some stupid mistakes recently that I don’t believe he’ll make again,” Trump told Kotorn, adding, “Let’s give Madison a second chance!”
Asked by NBC News about Trump’s post, Tillis said: “Technically, this is the sixth or seventh chance.”
“He has not learned from the mistake he has made in the last year,” the senator told Kotorn.
This is breaking news. Please check again for updates.
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