‘I Will Not Be Bullied,’ North Carolina Democrat Representative Switches to Republican

Tricia Cotham, who was elected for Mecklenburg district in the 2022 midterm election, announced that she is joining the Republican party from the Democratic party, effectively giving the GOP a full supermajority.

A supermajority can override vetoes from Democratic Governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, who has vetoed a record number of Republican bills.

Speaking at an NCGOP press conference, Cotham declared her opposition to the current Democratic party, calling it “unrecognizable” to her and many others. She says that the party wants to vilify individuals who have free thought, have solutions and want to better their state. “If you do not do exactly what the Democrats want you to do, they will try to bully you,” says Cotham.

Cotham refused to be controlled by anyone and asserted her independence and common sense. She said that she has always tried to work across the aisle and believes it’s her duty as a legislator to hear all sides before deciding how to vote. However, she believes that the Democrats have become afraid of independent thought.

Cotham revealed that since she became a representative of the state, she has “suffered many attacks” from Democrats, which included her children being targeted. These attacks shook her and prompted her decision to switch parties. She says that working across the aisle is only talk with little action within the Democratic party.

In a press conference, House Speaker Tim Moore stated that Cotham is one of several Democrats with whom he spoke who are annoyed with the Democratic Party. He cited the pervasiveness of woke ideologies causing frustration among party members.

Senator Phil Berger added that Cotham is one of many who have gone public to declare that the Democratic party has abandoned its former values. He said that the Democratic party values ideological purity and adherence to whatever superior individuals, such as the Governor or someone else in the party, say is correct, which is not the American way. This, he believes, will lead to the further dissipation of membership in the party.

Cotham, a former schoolteacher, was appointed to serve in 2007, becoming one of the youngest lawmakers in North Carolina. She did not run for re-election in 2016. In the 2022 primaries, she was elected to represent the 112th district based in Mecklenburg County.