From Staff Reports

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Hendersonville, has riled up some of his critics who say he is hand-picking his choices for North Carolina congressional seats, according to a Dec. 8 story by Asheville television station WLOS (News 13). 

Specifically, over the Dec. 4-5 weekend, Cawthorn “visited the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, where he met with former president Donald Trump, who helped Cawthorn in hand-picking his choices for candidates in Republican-leaning congressional districts,” News 13 reported.

During Cawthorn’s recent meeting with Trump, a flyer reportedly was revealed that shows Cawthorn’s choices for Republican-leaning congressional districts.

“It said ‘Congressman Cawthorn’s plan for North Carolina’,” Dr. Chris Cooper, professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University, was quoted as saying by News 13.

“Cooper said the move comes with controversy,” the TV station added.

Specifically, Cooper was quoted by News 13 as asserting, “Not only is Cawthorn saying, ‘These are the people I would endorse,’ but ‘These are the districts that I want those people to run in.’ I think it’s that last part that makes this so unprecedented. The state Republican Party obviously had their own plans for some of those seats.”

On Dec. 8, “the North Carolina Republican Party had no comment on the issue,” News 13 reported.

Further, News 13 noted, “One of Cawthorn’s picks is Michele Woodhouse, a Republican Party leader in the mountains, now running in the newly created 14th District, with Cawthorn running in the neighboring 13th.

“Cooper said Cawthorn’s picks to the far-right could ruffle the feathers of the party establishment,” the TV station reported.

‘“I think what it tells us is that President Donald Trump is still the de-facto leader of the Republican Party,” Cooper was quoted as saying by News 13.