Harsh judgments about Cawthorn’s time in Congress should be tinged with sympathy. He’s wheelchair-bound after a devastating injury in a car accident when a friend fell asleep at the wheel during spring break. A long, wrenching profile in Politico brought home the great physical and psychological trauma that Cawthorn has overcome. But there is a broadly shared sense that he’s been unraveling in Congress, with repeated minor brushes with the law coming on top of bizarre statements, including that his congressional colleagues are attending coke-fueled orgies (only on Netflix shows is Washington really this interesting). He has also managed to burn through the vast sums of money he has raised, leaving him short of campaign cash when he actually needs it for a campaign.

Cawthorn would probably be better served finding a calling outside of Congress, with its temptations of instant fame. Regardless, there is no reason for the voters of the heavily Republican eleventh district to settle for a representative who continuously brings discredit to the institution he serves and the people he represents. There is no lack of worthy alternatives in the multi-candidate field in Tuesday’s primary, led by Chuck Edwards, a rock-ribbed conservative with a solid record of public service. Many of the leading lights of the North Carolina GOP have thrown everything they have behind him.