‘The Party Wants to Villainize Anyone’: North Carolina Democrat Switches Parties, Giving GOP Veto-Proof Supermajority
A North Carolina state representative announced she’s switching from Democrat to Republican, arguing her party has become “unrecognizable.”
State Rep. Tricia Cotham made her remarks outside the state’s Republican headquarters in Raleigh on Wednesday.
“The modern-day Democratic Party has become unrecognizable to me and to so many others throughout this state and this country,” Cotham said. “The party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought, free judgment, has solutions, who wants to get to work to better our state, not just sit in a meeting and have a workshop after a workshop. But really work with individuals to get things done, because that’s what real public servants do. If you don’t do exactly what the Democrats want you to do, they will try to bully you; they will try to cast you aside.”
Republicans already had a supermajority in the state Senate. Cotham’s move allowed the party to attain 72 seats in the state House. Together, that’s enough votes to override any veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
“I am no longer a Democrat, but I remain a public servant, that is what I am called to do,” Cotham said. “The party that represents me and my principles and what is best for North Carolina is the Republican Party,” Cotham said.
Cotham served as a Democrat in the state’s House of Representatives for nearly a decade. She ran for reelection in 2022 with the backing of EMILY’s List, which typically supports pro-choice candidates. Cotham won her Charlotte-area district by nearly 20 points.
She said it was bullying that ultimately prompted her to leave the Democratic Party.
“I’ve suffered many attacks since I’ve been up here, from Democrats in the party, from blasting me on Twitter, to calling me names, to going after my family, going after my children,” she said.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel officially welcomed Cotham to the GOP saying in a statement, “Even in a Biden district in a purple state, Democrats are reading the writing on the wall: liberal policies are too extreme and they’re failing Americans.”
