Republican Madison Cawthorn reacts to becoming youngest member of Congress: 'Cry more, lib.'

Moments after Madison Cawthorn learned he would become the youngest member of Congress, the 25-year-old Republican set off a controversy on Twitter with a three-word tweet: "Cry more, lib."

"Hello from the uk. Is this how you guys act when you win? Don’t you want to unite, or build?" replied author Danny Wallace, who has written a book on the culture of rudeness.

Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, said Cawthorn will energize younger people.

"I think he’s able to make a credible case that he's able to help the Republican Party with a group of voters they’re losing — young people," Cooper said, adding that the district Cawthorn won is reliably Republican and went for Trump by 57% in 2016. "It's the youth that appeals to people, and the national attention."

Meanwhile, his opponent Moe Davis, a 62-year-old retired Air Force colonel, issued a statement saying "the voters have spoken and while I’m disappointed, I respect their decision."

Once he is sworn into office in January, he will become the youngest member in Congress, a title currently held by Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"The days of AOC and the far left misleading the next generation of Americans are numbered," Cawthorn said in a prepared victory statement. "Tonight, the voters of Western North Carolina chose to stand for freedom and a new generation of leadership in Washington."

Cawthorn said he entered politics after suffering a car accident as a teenager that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Contributing: Paul Moon and John Boyle, Asheville Citizen Times; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Madison Cawthorn reacts to winning seat in Congress: 'Cry more, lib'