Tricia Cotham

RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) – A sitting North Carolina state representative, who was elected as a Democrat, is leaving the party and becoming a Republican, ...

NC House member Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County is switching parties and will now caucus with Republicans, giving the GOP a supermajority in the state ...

And in the past, in her previous, you know, time in Raleigh, she spoke on the House floor about having an abortion because of a life-threatening complication. The group wrote that she deliberately misrepresented herself to voters of Mecklenburg County and lied about her intentions for serving in the people's House. Terry: And now, Steve, I assume attention turns to the issue of abortion. Because of that, the appropriate action is for her to resign. Cotham said she was opposed to repealing the pistol permit law, but she missed the vote. The League of Conservation Voters, which was a plaintiff in a gerrymandering lawsuit, called her Turncoat Tricia. The big one came last week when the House overrode the governor's veto of a bill that repealed the state's pistol permit law. Terry: And back to the votes for a second. One of the first came in December when she was the only Democrat to vote for a constitutional amendment that would make members of the state Board of Election elected rather than appointed. Her mom, Pat Cotham, is a longtime Democratic member of the Mecklenburg Commission and a Democratic National Committee member. Harrison: Yeah, Early on, House Speaker Tim Moore named her co-chair of the K-12 Education Committee, one of only three Democrats to get a top committee position in the House. And there were others, a bill requiring sheriffs to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A Democrat in the North Carolina state House switched to the Republican Party, giving the GOP veto-proof control in both chambers of the legislature and ...

Representative Tricia Cotham is switching parties, moving from being a registered Democrat to a registered Republican. Cotham's decision to switch parties ...

Cotham’s decision is a betrayal to the people of HD-112 with repercussions not only for the people of her district but for the entire state of North Carolina. Tricia Cotham has got to resign,” President of the Democratic Women of Mecklenburg County DonnaMarie Woodson said. “She has just handed the Republican Party full reign of the State of North Carolina. “I am still who I am,” she said. I am still who I am.” Personally, I support the heartbeat bill, but it appears the votes just aren’t there for that,” Moore said, adding that legislation tightening the abortion restrictions was already in the works before Cotham’s decision to switch. When I came here and when I campaigned to be here, I really believed I could make change in the Democratic party,” she said. Cotham’s decision to switch parties comes months into the legislative session in which Republicans already had a supermajority in the N.C. If she can no longer represent the values her constituents trusted her to champion, she should resign immediately.” Senate and were just one vote shy of a supermajority in the N.C. And that was very hard and I still kept trying,” Cotham continued, saying she was cut off from her fellow Democratic caucus members. Republican Party headquarters in Raleigh Wednesday morning.

The change in allegiances by a Democratic state representative gave Republicans narrow veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the legislature, ...

Cotham focused much of her remarks on Wednesday on what she described as a pattern of bullying at the hands of her colleagues. State Representative Cecil Brockman, a Democrat who also missed the floor vote during the veto override, said in an interview that “I didn’t see it coming, but I do get how she feels resentful from the constant character attacks that she has received, and a couple of us have received.” “There are always those few people who register blue and say that they’re blue, but don’t always come through in the end,” Ms. Cotham moved her desk in the chamber on Tuesday, accused his colleague of deceiving her constituents and called on her to step down. In addition to her record of voting for Democratic priorities, her mother, Pat Cotham, was once a Democratic National Committee member. In recent days, there had been signs of a fissure between Ms. Cotham for “joining a Republican caucus that has stridently opposed abortion rights, rolled back voting rights and imposed deep cuts on public education for years.” It’s hard to believe she would abandon these long-held principles, and she should still vote the way she has always said she would vote when these issues arise, regardless of party affiliation.” She said both she and her young children had been subjected to personal attacks by Democrats in the state, and denounced what she called attempts to “control” her. Her Twitter account liked a statement welcoming her to the Republican Party. Cooper’s vetoes; they already have a veto-proof majority in the Senate. Now, however, her decision helps Republicans cement razor-thin but complete control over a second chamber of the legislature, giving them the ability to bypass Gov.

Cotham formally announced her party switch on Wednesday, giving state Republicans a House supermajority. Democrats want her to resign.

That is not the person that was presented to the voters of House District 112. That is not the person those constituents campaigned for in a hard primary, and who they championed in a general election in a 60% Democratic district,” Reives said in a statement. Among other things, that has included bills to increase penalties for rioting, to require sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, and most recently, to repeal the state’s permit law for buying handguns. It’s hard to believe she would abandon these long held principles and she should still vote the way she has always said she would vote when these issues arise, regardless of party affiliation.” “This announcement continues to reflect that the Democratic Party is too radical for North Carolina,” Whatley said. But this now, where we are, the modern-day Democratic Party has become unrecognizable to me, and to so many others throughout the state and the country,” Cotham said. Moore said that in conversations with Cotham over the last few weeks he got a sense she was unhappy and felt that she had to vote against her conscience more than once. “As long as I have been a Democrat, the Democrats have tried to be a big tent. Cotham’s historic announcement highlights that Republicans are the only party focused on the bottom line for taxpayers here at home.“ “Even when I was in the minority, and Rep. What she perceived as increasing hostility from her colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus alarmed her, Cotham said. Several GOP leaders and high-ranking lawmakers attended Wednesday’s press conference to welcome Cotham to the party.

Representative Tricia Cotham is switching parties, giving NC Republicans the supermajority they need to override any veto by Gov. Roy Cooper.

Cotham's website also said she believed the "right to vote is sacred and the cornerstone of our democracy." Voting rights are on the line. She and other absent Democrats took criticism for what happened, leading at least one liberal-leaning group to announce plans to "hold them accountable" in 2024. LGBTQ rights are on the line. Cotham was one of three House Democrats who were absent last week during the override votes on the gun bill. ... That is not the person those constituents campaigned for in a hard primary, and who they championed in a general election in a 60% Democratic district. "This announcement continues to reflect that the Democratic Party is too radical for North Carolina. Cotham join the Republican Party to advance solutions for North Carolina families," said NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley. "Reproductive freedoms are on the line. "The party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought, free judgement, has solutions and wants to get to work to better our state. When asked specifically if she would support a ban on abortions after the first trimester, she dodged the question. If you don't do exactly what the Democrats want you to do they will try to bully you.

A North Carolina Democratic state representative announced on Wednesday that she would switch political parties and become a Republican, a move that hands ...

Cotham’s decision is a betrayal to the people of HD-112 with repercussions not only for the people of her district, but for the entire state of North Carolina,” North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton and Mecklenburg County Democratic Party Chair Jane Whitley said in a joint statement. Cotham join the Republican Party to advance solutions for North Carolina families,” Whatley said in a statement. The values of the Republican Party align with voters, and the People of Mecklenburg County should be proud to have her representation in Raleigh.” Cotham’s party switch was also surprising because of her roots in the Democratic Party. “Not just sit in a meeting and have a workshop after a workshop, but really work with individuals to get things done. Cotham’s decision has massive implications for politics in the state.

N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) held a press conference this morning at the N.C. GOP Headquarters in Raleigh with state Republican leaders to ...

Cotham said her change is not necessarily due to her positions changing, but bullying she has experienced from other women in the Democratic Party. Cotham served in the N.C. But, in January, Cotham co-sponsored a bill to codify the provisions of Roe v. "But what I can promise you is that we have room for an independently minded, strong-willed woman who represents her constituents well, a woman who embodies what it means to govern and not to be governed." Cotham said she has never thought abortion rights "was the biggest issue facing women in North Carolina." She rejoined the House in January and said she was treated as a freshman member, not as an experienced one. Cotham's switch gives Republicans a supermajority in both houses of the N.C. In May 2022, while she was campaigning for the seat and running as a Democrat, Cotham "We aren't perfect — in fact, we're a long way from that," N.C. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) held a press conference this morning at the N.C. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell, Watauga), N.C. General Assembly, allowing them to push through policy more easily and override any of Democratic Gov.

Rep. Tricia Cotham will switch to the NC Republican Party and give them a supermajority in the House. Charlotte Democrats want their money back.

Last year Tricia Cotham was elected to the North Carolina House as a pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ Democrat. Now she's given the GOP a veto-proof majority, ...

North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham announced she was switching affiliation on Wednesday — a move that gives the Republicans a veto-proof majority in ...