A North Carolina Democratic state representative announced on Wednesday that she would switch political parties and become a Republican, a move that hands the GOP a veto-proof supermajority in the state House in the middle of the legislative session.
State Rep. Tricia Cotham, who represents a Democratic-leaning district in the Charlotte area, formally announced her decision at a morning press conference, saying that it was born out of frustration and disagreements with the modern state Democratic Party.
“The party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought, free judgment, has solutions and wants to get to work to better our state,” Cotham said. “Not just sit in a meeting and have a workshop after a workshop, but really work with individuals to get things done.
“What happened to the concept of a big tent party?” she later added. “What happened to these ideas that we’re inclusive, we’re tolerant, we’re so welcoming to everybody. No, you’re not.”
Cotham’s decision has massive implications for politics in the state. Republicans came out of the 2022 election cycle winning a supermajority in the state Senate outright, but falling one seat short of a supermajority in the state House.
Cotham’s party switch virtually ensures that Democratic state lawmakers won’t be able to uphold Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D) vetoes, so long as all members are voting.
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