Key facts
- Rep. Chuck Edwards is ending his re-election campaign.
- The House Ethics Committee recommended censure for Edwards due to unprofessional conduct toward two female aides.
- Edwards will complete his current term.
- The committee cited gifts, comments on appearance, and invitations to intimate dinners and vacations as examples of improper conduct.
- Edwards' attorneys argued the censure recommendation was harsh and not based on sexual misconduct violations.
North Carolina Republican congressman Chuck Edwards has withdrawn from his re-election campaign following a recommendation for censure by the House Ethics Committee. The committee cited unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his office, including providing gifts, making comments about their appearance, and inviting them to intimate dinners and vacations.
Edwards, 65, who is serving his second term, stated he made the decision after prayer and reflection and will complete his current term. His attorneys argued that the committee's findings "exonerate" him and that the censure recommendation was "extraordinarily harsh and infrequent." The committee, however, said his behavior would lead a reasonable observer to interpret it as a sexual or romantic advance, though it found no evidence of explicit propositions or sexual activity.
North Carolina Republican Senator Ted Budd stated that Edwards "did the right thing by withdrawing." The Republican executive committee in Edwards' district will meet next week to select a new nominee for the midterm election.
The political upheaval complicates the Republican effort to maintain their slim majority in the House. The district Edwards is vacating has been considered a bellwether, and election analysts had already shifted their assessment of the race from favorable to Republicans to more competitive.