NC Rep. Madison Cawthorn's campaign spending under scrutiny again

Freshman North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn is once again making headlines for his campaign finances. This time, it's for failing to report them on time. He could be facing fines or even an audit.

Posted 8:39 p.m. Aug 10, 2022 — Updated 12:57 a.m. Aug 11, 2022

Laura Leslie

, WRAL capitol bureau chief

RALEIGH, N.C. — Freshman North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn is once again making headlines for his campaign finances. This time, it's for failing to report them on time.

The Federal Election Commission sent a letter August 1 to Cawthorn’s campaign, saying the FEC had yet not received the quarterly finance report required in July.

"It is important that you file this report immediately," the letter says, warning of potential fines or other legal action.

However, Cawthorn, who is his own campaign treasurer, was on a trip through Washington, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida. That's according to his Instagram, which shows jet skiing, fancy cocktails, and even some war games.

“One heck of a birthday weekend!” Cawthorn posted. ”Back to work now.”

The campaign did not respond to an inquiry from WRAL News about the reason for the delay in filing the report.

The Hendersonville Republican has long been a lightning rod for controversy, from carrying guns into airports to calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug" — even claiming he was invited to a congressional sex party.

All those headlines helped make him a fundraising machine. Cawthorn brought in some $3.9 million dollars in donations this cycle. However, he’s already burned through $3.8 million of it. As of May, his campaign had only $138,000 left in the coffers.

Western Carolina political science chairman Chris Cooper says Cawthorn's been spending money as quickly as he raises it.

"I would describe that as an extremely high burn rate, a 'get to the moon' kind of burn rate," Cooper told WRAL News. "We just don’t see this sort of thing in campaign politics today."

While most of the money did go to campaign expenses like advertising and consulting, Cawthorn also spent a great deal of money on travel and luxuries.

FEC data shows that between January 2021 and April 2022, Cawthorn’s campaign paid for more than $63,000 in air travel, some $44,000 for hotels and resorts, and more than $4,400 just for Uber.

Cooper said that's far above average for most members of Congress.

The FEC reports also detail thousands of dollars in restaurant tabs, cigars, even taxidermy. Cooper noted that Cawthorn previously said the taxidermy was for a door prize for a fundraising event.

"There are some things that we can question. For example, he's putting down that he's spending on food at a cigar shop, so there's a few things that may push the envelope," Cooper said. "But yes, the vast majority of what we're seeing is irresponsible spending, but it is not illegal spending."

The congressman is under investigation by the House Ethics committee for potentially improper use of campaign funds to supplement his congressional staff’s pay. Cooper said that's not allowed. Cawthorn has previously said he did nothing wrong and welcomes the opportunity to clear his name.

Cawthorn lost his primary in May to state senator Chuck Edwards, R-Henderson. Cooper thinks that's partly because Cawthorn tried to run a national campaign for a local office, and partly because donor support for Cawthorn began to decline after a series of scandals.

"When you’re donating money to a campaign," Cooper said, "you need to pay attention to these reports so you can see how your money is being spent. I have to believe that the vast majority of these contributors would not be happy with the way Madison Cawthorn is spending the money that used to be theirs."

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