Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) on Wednesday endorsed Catalina Lauf, a former top adviser to former President Donald Trump, in challenging Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) for his 16th Congressional District seat.
“Establishment hacks, who prioritize the approval of CNN, Nancy Pelosi, and radical Democrats in Congress have more in common with socialist activists than American Patriots,” he added. “Elected officials who side with Pelosi and sideline the American people, have no place in the Republican Party.”
In endorsing Lauf, Cawthorn said Kinzinger, a Trump critic, “has no place in the Republican Party.”
“I am the first to condemn D.C. insider Kinzinger and the first to endorse a powerful America first, political outsider, in Catalina Lauf. I assure you I will not be the last,” Cawthorn said. “She is dedicated to working for, not against, the interests of the people of Illinois, and I know that she will be a powerful fighter in Washington.”
“The day of the pandering politician is over, it is time for American lions to rise,” the congressman added. “And in 2022, this nation will hear the roar of freedom.”
The endorsement comes as, Kinzinger who was asked to serve on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), faces backlash from fellow party members for participating in the panel.
The Illinois representative said last week that the panel would allow lawmakers to provide a transparent look into the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, echoing claims from Democrats that it was an “attack on our democracy.”
Kinzinger also voted to impeach Trump following the riot.
Lauf is challenging Kinzinger in Illinois’s 16th Congressional District.
Kinzinger didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.