{"id":2653790,"date":"2026-09-02T18:39:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T22:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ralph-norman-explains-lone-vote-against-chuck-edwards-censure\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T18:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T22:39:42","slug":"ralph-norman-explains-lone-vote-against-chuck-edwards-censure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ralph-norman-explains-lone-vote-against-chuck-edwards-censure\/","title":{"rendered":"Ralph Norman explains lone vote against Chuck Edwards censure"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fralph-norman-explains-lone-vote-against-chuck-edwards-censure%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2653790&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) explained his decision to vote against the censure of rep. Chuck Edwards, citing the Ethics Committee\u2019s failure to recommend punishment for Democrat Eric Swalwell, who resigned amid accusations of sexual misconduct. Norman stated that he opposed the \u201cherd effect\u201d and believed Edwards\u2019s conduct did not warrant censure, despite findings that he failed to follow rules regarding sexual harassment and unwanted advances. Norman also highlighted that other lawmakers who faced misconduct allegations resigned without censure, influencing the vote. He was the only Republican to oppose the censure, emphasizing his independence and personal reasons for backing Edwards.Edwards himself dropped his reelection bid following a report that detailed inappropriate conduct with young female staffers, though his campaign denied these actions violated sexual harassment laws. Norman mentioned that some colleagues hesitated to vote for censure due to previous cases not resulting in punishment, but he chose to act independently. Edwards defended himself on the House floor, asserting that he did not commit sexual harassment and that his mistakes did not justify censure.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ethics\/\">Ethics<\/a> Committee\u2019s decision not to recommend punishment for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"60\">California<\/a> Democrat <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/eric-swalwell\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"2345\">Eric Swalwell<\/a>, who resigned earlier this year over sexual misconduct allegations, compelled him to stand with Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) in voting against his censure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norman told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in an interview he was not going to support the \u201cherd effect\u201d toward Edwards after the committee released findings stating the lawmaker failed \u201cto adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sexual-harassment\/\">sexual harassment<\/a> of and unwanted advances to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house\/\">House<\/a> staffers.\u201d Edwards also voted against his own censure.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4710845\/nicole-malliotakis-aide-struck-by-lightning\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Malliotakis aide uninjured after being struck by lightning in New York<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4710804\/ralph-norman-lone-vote-chuck-edwards-censure\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ralph Norman explains why he was the lone vote against Chuck Edwards censure<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4710815\/jeffries-weighing-kicking-centrist-democrats-bucked-him-off-committees\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Jeffries won\u2019t rule out kicking off committees centrist Democrats who backed condemning socialism<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne, I wasn\u2019t going to leave him out there by himself,\u201d Norman explained<em>.<\/em> \u201cTwo, the Ethics Committee would not censure Swalwell; he was sleeping with everybody in the world. Now, I know he resigned. Congresswoman Plaskett was colluding with Jeffrey Epstein, a pedophile, did not get that.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Edwards\u2019s censure came as three House lawmakers have already resigned this year \u2014 Swalwell, Texas Republican Tony Gonzales, who was also accused of sexual misconduct, and Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was accused of financial misconduct. They were not censured before they resigned. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The House also halted a censure \u2014 introduced by Norman \u2014 of Democratic Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett last year over her text messages with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norman said because they were not censured, other Republicans had expressed they would not vote to punish Edwards.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in the end, just Norman and Edwards voted against the resolution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere were a lot of people that said they were not going to vote to do it because of just what I told you, but there\u2019s a cascade. I\u2019m not gonna follow a crowd. I\u2019m just not gonna do it,\u201d Norman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Norman, who lost recent bids for South Carolina governor and Senate, said he was surprised to be the lone vote, adding that Edwards called him to thank him for the vote.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Edwards dropped his reelection bid after the committee released its report that stated he invited young female staffers to dinner, gave them gifts, wrote them notes, and repeatedly tried to see them. In one instance, Edwards talked to the staffers about going to strip clubs. His campaign denied that any of the findings violate federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sexual-harassment\/\">sexual harassment<\/a> laws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4708647\/eight-democrats-condemn-socialism-dsa-vote\/\">EIGHT HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTE TO CONDEMN AND DENOUNCE SOCIALISM AND THE DSA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m asking you to distinguish between conduct that you might personally have handled differently, and conduct that warrants the solemn judgment of censure by the United States House of Representatives,\u201d Edwards said on the House floor ahead of the vote. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve spent my public life trying to serve the people who entrusted me with this office,\u201d he said. \u201cI am imperfect. I have made mistakes, but I do not believe I committed sexual harassment, and the factual findings of this investigation do not justify branding me as though I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Norman defies crowd, votes against Edwards&#8217; censure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3691,"featured_media":2653791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-collage-nc3iik8tj-1788387846292-e1788388170206.jpg?1788373759&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[83626,4402,5894],"class_list":["post-2653790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-chuck-edwards","tag-congress","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-collage-nc3iik8tj-1788387846292-e1788388170206.jpg?1788373759&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3691"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2653790"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653794,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653790\/revisions\/2653794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2653791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2653790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2653790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2653790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}