Sen. Tillis saw a big increase in casework from western NC after Cawthorn lost
After Rep. Madison Cawthorn lost his Republican primary election, one of North Carolina’s senators noticed a substantial increase in the number of constituent services requests his staff received from Cawthorn’s district.
Cawthorn and Sen. Thom Tillis notoriously butted heads with one another during Cawthorn’s only term in office, and that became public after Cawthorn called Tillis a RINO, a pejorative term that means a Republican In Name Only. The rift deepened after Cawthorn called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a thug” and said Cawthorn’s congressional colleagues snorted cocaine and had orgies. Tillis openly campaigned against Cawthorn on behalf of Edwards.
“Over the last year, my office has seen a noticeable increase in casework for Western North Carolina due to the previous congressman abandoning his district and the constituents he promised to serve,” Sen. Thom Tillis told McClatchy in a written statement on Wednesday.
Tillis’ staff said that he received an equal number of requests for constituent services out of the 11th Congressional District in Cawthorn’s last seven months as in his first 17 months. The requests Tillis received in those last seven months from the state’s westernmost district increased by 100%.
When a member of Congress does casework for a constituent, it could mean anything from helping with immigration matters to ensuring a veteran receives their benefits to having a flag fly over the Capitol in someone’s honor.
Even before the primary, Cawthorn was accused of consolidating his district offices, affecting constituent services, said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, located within Cawthorn’s district.
Cawthorn maintained district offices in Franklin, Waynesville and Hendersonville, but by May 2022, only the Hendersonville office remained open. Cooper said after the primary, questions about whether even that office remained open circulated.
A McClatchy opinion writer attempted to call Cawthorn’s offices in November but, as a non-constituent, was rerouted to his congressional office. When calling as a constituent without a pending case the writer was routed to a voicemail in Hendersonville. An active case got her through to a human.
At that point, news broke that Cawthorn bought a house in Florida and wasn’t showing up for work in Washington. Cawthorn later confirmed on social media he moved to the Sunshine State.
“There’s a lot of reasons that Madison Cawthorn lost his seat, but a sense that he was more concerned with clicks and likes than his district was likely the primary reason,” Cooper said. “Members of Congress, even today, serve critical roles for the people in their district and when those basic services aren’t being met, it opens the door to being voted out of office.”
Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican who previously served as a state senator, succeeded Cawthorn in January and almost immediately after being sworn in notified the public that Cawthorn did not provide any outstanding casework to Edwards in the transition.
The news release said that Edwards had no way of knowing which constituents had ongoing casework or other outstanding federal issues and to contact his staff for help.
“I ran on the issue of providing the best constituent service possible for the people of Western North Carolina,” Edwards said in the release. “I would like to ensure that our veterans, the elderly, the infirm and others who need help get the full benefit of the services they are entitled to.”
Cawthorn released a statement, first reported by Spectrum, that Edwards’ staff never told Cawthorn that he didn’t have everything he needed from Cawthorn’s team and placed the onus on Edwards being unable to do his job.
Tillis thinks otherwise.
“Thankfully, the district now has a Congressman in Chuck Edwards who is dedicated to making constituent services his number one priority,” Tillis said.
Tillis said his and Edwards’ teams are working closely to identify and resolve any unfinished casework out of Western North Carolina.
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This story was originally published January 22, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Sen. Tillis saw a big increase in casework from western NC after Cawthorn lost."