Western NC GOP official accused of holding back Madison Cawthorn’s challengers
The North Carolina GOP is reviewing allegations that Michele Woodhouse, a GOP chapter chair and candidate for the newly-drawn 14th Congressional district, used her position to hinder the campaigns of other Republican candidates.
Jeff Moore, the communications director for the NC GOP, confirmed that the organization was looking into the complaints, but declined to provide further comment.
Two Republican candidates in NC-14, Bruce O’Connell and Wendy Nevarez, have said Woodhouse either discouraged their candidacy outright or denied them equal footing with U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn — who has since switched to run in the 13th Congressional District.
Now, Woodhouse is running for Congress herself in the very district where some Republican challengers are saying they were hampered from mounting campaigns against Cawthorn. Woodhouse denies those accusations.
“Obviously it’s inappropriate for a party official to discourage anyone from running in a Republican primary,” said Wayne King, a former North Carolina GOP Vice Chair and deputy chief of staff for former Rep. Mark Meadows. “If the allegations are true she obviously overstepped her bounds, big time.”
Raising further eyebrows is a $1,000 donation that Cawthorn made in August to a political committee named for Woodhouse — months before Cawthorn announced he would instead run in the newly-drawn 13th district. At the time, Woodhouse had not announced her intent to run for Congress but had she — and had Cawthorn stuck with running in his home district — Woodhouse would have been a primary opponent.
With redistricting in North Carolina, Cawthorn’s current 11th Congressional District was renamed 14th and while its boundaries have changed on the new maps, both the current 11th district and new 14th encompass most of western North Carolina. The 13th stretches from the western border of Mecklenburg County to Polk, Rutherford and McDowell counties.
Woodhouse told WLOS last month that the $1,000 donation “was absolutely not a political donation.”
Luke Ball, Cawthorn’s spokesman, told the Observer in a statement that the donation was given to Woodhouse to assist her in her duties as a district chairwoman.
“The donation does not amount to any form of an endorsement,” Ball said. “Congressman Cawthorn does not intend to endorse any candidate in the newly-drawn NC-14th until at least after debates are held.”
On Monday, Politico reported that Cawthorn handed out a flier at a Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump, which indicated Cawthorn’s “plan” for the North Carolina election. It showed Woodhouse as the nominee for the 14th district.
The donation has raised suspicions that Cawthorn and Woodhouse have been working together in some capacity — possibly hoping to secure her an elected position — though there is no direct evidence that the donation was intended for that purpose, said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University.
“(At least two other candidates have) been complaining about this for a long time, that she was supporting Cawthorn when it was still a competitive primary,” he said. “Was she being a fair broker for the party? That is the question.”
Allegations from other candidates
O’Connell, in a press release, said Woodhouse “used a number of tactics to discourage my candidacy for this office, including ‘blacklisting’ me and other candidates from speaking at GOP events.”
In an interview with the Observer, Nevarez said she had a similar experience.
“I point-blank asked her if we were going to have a forum to discuss anything and she flat out, blatantly said, ‘No we will not, we have an incumbent,’” Nevarez said. “She would definitely prevent any type of public forum where the public could get to know any of the other candidates other than pushing Madison (Cawthorn).”
GOP district chairs are supposed to stay impartial during primaries.
Not everyone agrees that Woodhouse acted improperly, though.
Rodney Honeycutt, another Republican running for NC-14, said he at no time was told he couldn’t speak at an event or that he wasn’t welcome.
“If you approach the leadership … and you make arrangements and find out and do your homework, you get put on the agenda,” he said.
Woodhouse’s campaign denied the allegations that she prevented or discouraged anybody’s candidacy.
“All candidates of all races have been and will continue benefiting from the energy and enthusiasm injected by the pep rallies, forums and dinners created by former 11th District GOP Chair Michele V. Woodhouse,” said Eddie Woodhouse, Michele Woodhouse’s spokesman. “Wise candidates have taken full advantage of the multiple opportunities Michele V. Woodhouse created.”
What about the money?
Cooper, the political science professor, called the donation “a head scratcher.”
First, it is unclear why the Cawthorn campaign sent the $1,000 to a committee in Woodhouse’s name rather than to the committee that was already set up for the 11th Congressional District Republican Party.
Cawthorn’s campaign said the money was for Woodhouse’s duties as a district chair, but among some observers, it has raised suspicions that Cawthorn and Woodhouse were in cahoots.
“To me it feels like she was going to run for something and they didn’t know what,” Cooper said, acknowledging that his suspicions are just that — suspicions, but reflective of the opinion of other observers as well. He added that Woodhouse “is going to need to explain why she’s not the next Lynda Bennett.”
Bennett ran against Cawthorn for the 11th Congressional District in 2020. She had the backing of then-President Donald Trump and Mark Meadows, who served as that district’s representative at the time but was not seeking re-election.
Despite the backing of the then-Congressman, Cawthorn took Bennett to a runoff election and beat her in a landslide.
Leading up to the primary, there were allegations that Meadows — who announced that he would not seek reelection shortly before the filing deadline — gave Bennett advanced notice and timed his departure from the race specifically to benefit her.
Both Bennett and Meadows denied the allegations at the time.
Cawthorn’s switch from NC-14 to NC-13, and his donation to Woodhouse, carries some similarities to Bennett and Meadows, but it also carries important differences. Chiefly, Cawthorn’s move was not timed in a way that could have dissuaded other candidates from entering the race.
But, Nevarez said, “Perception is everything,” and such an early donation of $1,000 to a committee in Woodhouse’s name concerns her. She said she hoped the state GOP would look into it and make a statement about whether any of the ethical concerns are justified.
“You want to look transparent to the public. This doesn’t look good,” she said. “It looks like a repeat of Meadows and Bennett. We don’t need the general public feeling any more disenfranchised in the process.”
This story was originally published December 7, 2021 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Western NC GOP official accused of holding back Madison Cawthorn’s challengers."
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