RALEIGH, N.C. — Young rising GOP star Madison Cawthorn has been elected to represent a North Carolina U.S. House district.
The 25-year-old's win in the 11th Congressional District allows him to fill a vacant seat previously held by Republican Rep. Mark Meadows. Meadows left to serve as President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
Cawthorn defeated Democrat and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Moe Davis. Cawthorn will be one of the youngest people to ever serve in the U.S. Congress.
He first drew attention after defeating Trump’s preferred candidate in an upset in the June GOP primary runoff.
The previous youngest elected member in modern history was Alexandria Ocasio Cortez who was 29 years when she was sworn in for her first term in January 2018.
The youngest member of the House of Representatives ever elected was William Charles Cole Claiborne of Tennessee, according to U.S. House records. Claiborne was elected in 1797, he was only 22 years old. He was reportedly seated, even though the constitutional age requirement is 25 years old for representatives.