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Madison Couthorne’s controversy has provoked mixed feelings from voters

  • MPs Madison Cotorne’s controversy has provoked mixed responses from voters in his area.
  • Some voters in Asheville, North Carolina, say Kotorne is “crazy” and will not support his re-election.
  • Other voters in his hometown say he is still doing a great job.

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ASHEVIL, North Carolina – Republican Madison Kotorn is in trouble.

He has twice brought weapons to airport checkpoints, allegedly drove without a valid license, made dubious allegations of cocaine orgies, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a thug, faced a financial investigation by Congress and – a video depicting the conservative MP naked in bed while simulating sex with another man recently appeared in a leaked information.

These and other recent controversies – yes, there are more – have made Cotorne a target in his own party ahead of the May 17 primary, which could determine his future in Congress, if any. And some voters who are preparing to vote in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, which covers much of the state’s western region, have mixed feelings about Kotorn’s re-election.

“He’s dangerous,” said Philip, a longtime resident of Cauthorn’s hometown of Hendersonville, North Carolina, who declined to give his last name. “He has to get out of here. He has lost a lot of respect in this community.”

Joy, a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, who declined to give her last name, said she would not vote for Madison Cotton MP if he won the primary in May. Camilla Deschalus

Joy, a 17-year-old Asheville resident who also declined to give her last name, told Insider she thought he was “crazy.”

“I don’t agree with any of the ideas he has,” she said. “I think he’s crazy and they need to get him out of everything he does.

But other Hendersonville residents expressed a different tone when asked if they would support his re-election bid before the primary.

“He’s young and can sometimes talk when he probably shouldn’t, but I’m all for him,” said a longtime business owner in Hendersonville, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.

Kotorn’s brazen rhetoric made him a rising star in the Republican Party.

“Be a radical for freedom. Be a radical for freedom, “Kotorn said during a speech at the Republican National Convention in 2020.

But his words also repelled some of his former supporters. The youngest member of Congress, Kotorn faced significant opposition not only from Democrats but also from Republicans.

North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis has called for an investigation into Cawthorn after government surveillance groups accused Cawthorn of violating the Congressional Knowledge Suspension Act (STOCK) over actions related to his financial stake in a cryptocurrency called “Let’s Go Brandon.” “, The slogan against Joe Biden, promoted by former President Donald Trump and other senior Republicans.

Separately, The Daily Beast said Thursday that Kotorn may also have violated congressional ethics rules, including payments to his chief of staff.

“He fucked up,” Sharon, a Hendersonville resident for nearly five years who declined to give her last name, told Insider.

“Once he was elected, he started doing nonsense,” Sharon said. – I will not vote for him.

On top of that, Kotorn is facing a congressional ethics complaint filed last week by David Wheeler, president of the American Muckrakers PAC, a political action committee that is trying to oust him.

The complaint accuses Coutorne of failing to properly disclose the cash loans and gifts he allegedly provided to a male employee. The complaint also says that the North Carolina MP violated the ethical rules of the House of Representatives, claiming that he gave free housing to the same employee.

Some of his supporters say the allegations are politically motivated because of the upcoming by-elections.

David Gorasan, a longtime Hendersonville resident, said the allegations against Cauthorn were “nonsense.” Camilla Deschalus

“It’s all nonsense,” David Gorasan, a Hendersonville resident, told Insider. “I met him once, he’s a great person and I like the way he thinks… He’s very honest and cool and he’s a very nice person overall.”

Trump’s Trump supporter has spoken out against the allegations, saying it was a coordinated effort by the North Carolina Establishment against him.

“I do not give up. I told you there would be a drip campaign. Blackmail will not win. We will do it, “Kotorn tweeted on Wednesday.

“Don’t let the Washington Swamp dissuade or dissuade you from sending a warrior back to Washington. “I just started fighting for you,” Kotorn wrote in a separate tweet the same day.

Cawthorn faces several Republican contenders ahead of the May 17 primary Republican vote. Camilla DeChalus

Cawthorn faces several Republican rivals ahead of the May 17 primary.

His main opponent is North Carolina Sen. Chuck Edwards, whom Tillis supports. Coutorne must receive more than 30 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off in July, where he will face the other candidate who finished first or second in the May vote.