Chuck Edwards

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, who announced Aug. 5 that he plans to end his reelection campaign in the face of potential censure in the House, is the third U.S. representative to announce his exit from Congress amid scandal this year and the second high-profile congressional candidate to drop out over alleged misconduct in the last month.

Edwards announcement came following an Aug. 3 recommendation from the House Ethics Committee that he be censured over allegations that he crossed professional boundaries with two young women who worked for his office, the Citizen Times reported.

He's in the company of a handful of other congressmen and candidates who left office in disgrace or ended their campaigns in the wake of misconduct ranging from inappropriate relationships with staffers to sexual assault.

Edwards came into office on the heels of a predecessor who also left office embroiled in controversy.

One through-line between all those resignations, campaign suspensions and primary losses was pressure and public criticism from those men’s own parties, according to previous reporting from USA TODAY.

These instances all go to show the “limits of partisanship,” according to one expert observer.

“Even in this time of radical polarization … there is still ‘too far’ for some people,” Chris Cooper, a political science and public affairs professor at Western Carolina University, told the Times-News Aug. 5.

‘The pressure we can see’

Two other U.S. House representatives, Texas Republican Tony Gonzales and California Democrat Eric Swalwell, resigned in the spring following allegations of misconduct.

Swalwell resigned April 13 in the face of a pending House expulsion vote after being accused of sexual assault by multiple women, USA TODAY reported.

Gonzales announced March 5 that he wouldn’t run for reelection under pressure after a staffer who he admitted to having an affair with killed herself, USA TODAY reported.

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner ended his campaign July 8 in the face of mounting pressure from his own party over allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct against previous romantic partners.

A “slow drip” of allegations against Edwards over the past months put him at an increasing disadvantage against his Democratic challenger Jamie Ager at the same time that the national environment was turning in Democrats’ favor, leaving District 11 as a toss-up, Cooper said.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, Republican of North Carolina, told NC Newsline in an Aug. 5 statement that Edwards “did the right thing” by dropping out of the race.

That and other pressure from his peers is “just the pressure we can see,” Cooper said. “What it takes, ultimately, is your own party deciding enough is enough.”

Budd’s office didn’t respond to an Aug. 5 request for comment.

Cooper contrasted Edwards with the case of Mark Robinson, who did not end his 2024 campaign for North Carolina governor after racist and lewd comments of his resurfaced online, USA TODAY reported. Robinson ultimately lost to Gov. Josh Stein by almost 15 percentage points.

Edwards’ attorneys said that the Ethics Committee report “exonerated” him based on the letter of misconduct and harassment rules, the Citizen Times reported.

The Times-News reached out to Edwards’ office Aug. 5.

Chuck Edwards’ legacy

Edwards’ legacy is complicated, Cooper said.

“He was elected under the promise of almost boring competence, he made it a feature and not a bug that he was not an ‘Instagram candidate,’” he said.

Edwards ran on that image after his predecessor, incumbent Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn, tried to carry a loaded handgun through Charlotte airport security and was chastised by party leadership for claiming he was invited to an orgy where he saw Republican members of Congress doing cocaine, the Asheville Citizen Times previously reported.

Those controversies were seen as a factor in his 2020 Republican primary loss to Edwards, the Citizen Times reported.

“That Chuck Edwards is dropping out from his bid for re-election is very sad for WNC. He has been a great friend of WNC with his amazing constituent services and accessibility via his ‘Carolina Cruiser’ … This is a huge loss for WNC,” Henderson County Republican Party Chair Greg Beam said in an Aug. 5 news release.

Beam and the North Carolina 11th Congressional District Republican Party didn’t respond to Times-News interview requests Aug. 5.

“I’m really sad that that’s where we are as a country and as a government,” Henderson County Democratic Party Chair Linda Ford said of the cluster of resignations and withdrawals.

“It shouldn’t be happening and what we need to do is get better at electing people who have some integrity,” she told the Times-News Aug. 5.

She said that Edwards’ perceived ineffectiveness after Helene would be another major part of his legacy, along with an apparent unwillingness to push back against President Donald Trump.

“That itself did some damage,” she said.

George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at [email protected].