The first Republican forum in the NC-14 congressional race may have been light on specific policy proposals, but the eight declared candidates in the race to replace Rep. Madison Cawthorn wasted no time introducing themselves to the GOP faithful in advance of the all-important May 17 Primary Election.

Congressional maps are still hung up in court and candidate filing still hasn’t resumed, but that didn’t stop the five Democrats running for the open NC-14 seat from holding a forum on Jan. 8. And although the crop of candidates is largely the same as it has been for almost a year, it was their first forum without the specter of Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-Henderson, hanging over it. 

Libertarian David Coatney entered the race for North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District long before Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-Henderson) announced his intention to run in the newly-penned 13th District on Nov. 11. A lot has changed since then, but not Coatney’s desire to give voters a third option — outside of the typical American two-party dynamic. 

Almost immediately after Rep. Madison Cawthorn announced on Nov. 11 that he’d seek an open seat in the new 13th Congressional District, speculation started to swirl around the intentions of NCGOP 14th District Chair Michele Woodhouse. 

Saying that he feels he can “offer more to the citizens of Western North Carolina as a senator than as a freshman congressman,” Franklin Republican Kevin Corbin has removed himself from the milieu of Republicans supposedly seeking the 14th Congressional District seat. 

Western North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn has become known for saying some surprising things to further his political agenda, but Cawthorn’s most recent statement is by far his most surprising. 

Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s decision to leave his 14th Congressional District seat open has already produced a “ripple effect” of electoral implications across the region, but now that the big splash is over, there’s at least one Western North Carolina Republican thinking about dipping his toes into the water. 

The North Carolina General Assembly passed new House, Senate and congressional maps last week, but if the lawsuits — some existing, some perhaps forthcoming — can’t stop them, Western North Carolina’s voters will be on the receiving end of something old, something new, something borrowed and nothing blue. 

During his brief political career, Western North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn has become known for saying some surprising things to further his political agenda, but Cawthorn’s most recent statement is by far the most surprising.