ASHEVILLE — U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, the recently elected youngest member of Congress, raised more than $1 million for his campaign committee in the first quarter, while a western North Carolina civil rights activist who just last month said she wants to unseat him also reported an impressive haul.
The committee for Cawthorn, a Republican elected in November at age 25, reported taking in almost $1.05 million during the three months ending March 31. The federal campaign filing deadline was Thursday.
Cawthorn, considered a rising national star in the Republican Party, initially waved off criticism for questioning the legitimacy of President Joe Biden's election. Cawthorn was among the speakers at outgoing President Donald Trump's Jan. 6 rally in Washington before hundreds of Trump’s supporters broke into the Capitol. Cawthorn said publicly shortly after the inauguration that he accepted Biden as president.
Several people have said they'll run against him for the 11th District seat next year, with the most money flowing so far to Democrat Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, whose committee reported taking in nearly $382,000 in the first four weeks after she announced her candidacy on March 3.
Beach-Ferrara is a Buncombe County commissioner, minister and founder of the Campaign for Southern Equality, an LGBT rights group.
With Cawthorn's committee reporting $716,000 in expenses during the first quarter, the two campaigns are relatively close when it comes to cash on hand. Cawthorn campaign had $443,000 in its coffers as of March 31, while Beach-Ferrara had $341,000, according to campaign reports.
Democrats Jay Carey, Josh Remillard and Eric Gash and Republican Wendy Nevarez also have announced recently their candidacies. Remillard's campaign reported raising $42,000 in the first quarter.
