Democrat Cotham defects, giving GOP veto-proof majority in NC House

North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham, who won election to a deep-blue Charlotte-area seat as a Democrat just five months ago, changed parties Tuesday — an extraordinary move that gives Republicans more power to override gubernatorial vetoes in the state House and push their agenda through the legislative process.

The move further reduces Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s power to shape state law during his final year-plus in office. Cooper has spent the past four years able to veto controversial GOP-backed bills; Republicans lost their veto-proof majority in the 2018 “Blue Wave” elections. But the 2022 midterms went in the GOP’s favor, giving Republicans a supermajority in the Senate and leaving them just one seat short in the House — a seat Cotham now appears to be handing to the GOP.

Cotham’s move could give the GOP the votes it needs to pass controversial proposals, including one of the session's biggest question marks: new abortion restrictions. Even as a Democrat, Cotham has already voted with Republicans on some other hot-button issues. But she was also outspoken on the campaign trail about supporting abortion rights, leading to questions Tuesday over what her move will mean for abortion in particular.

Before a House session late Tuesday afternoon, lawmakers and legislative staffers cleaned out Cotham's desk, then moved her seat from the Democratic side of the chamber to the Republican side. Cotham then walked in with an entourage of Republicans including Rep. John Bell, the House Majority Leader. Later in the day, her Twitter account liked a tweet welcoming her to the GOP.

It's the biggest political bombshell at the state legislature in recent years. Others have switched parties, but not since a bribery scandal 20 years ago — which briefly resulted in an evenly tied House of Representatives, and eventually led to a top Democrat being sent to prison — has any state legislator affected the balance of power by switching sides in the middle of a legislative session.

Cotham didn’t respond to requests for comment by text or email. Asked multiple times in person, she initially remained silent but finally told WRAL News: “Press conference tomorrow” and walked away, escorted by Republican House Speaker Tim Moore’s bodyguard.

She is scheduled to attend a press conference at the headquarters of the state Republican Party on Wednesday.

While it was clear Tuesday that Cotham had aligned herself with the GOP, details of exactly how she plans to do so were not clear. She could officially switch her party affiliation to Republican. She could also technically remain a Democrat on paper, or switch to being an unaffiliated voter, but sit and vote with Republicans in the legislature. Regardless, Democrats made clear that she was no longer one of them.

Cooper called Cotham’s decision “disappointing,” suggesting it could be consequential. “Rep. Cotham’s votes on women’s reproductive freedom, election laws, LGBTQ rights and strong public schools will determine the direction of the state we love,” Cooper said in a statement. “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.”

Other Democrats called on Cotham to resign. Anderson Clayton, chair of the state Democratic Party, released a joint statement with Mecklenburg County party chair calling Cotham’s move a betrayal to her district and “deceit of the highest order.”

House Minority Leader Robert Reives said the person joining the GOP “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.”

“Those constituents deserved to know what values were most important to their elected representative,” Reives continued. “Because of that, the appropriate action is for her to resign so that her constituents are fairly represented in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

One progressive group called her "Turncoat Tricia."

Republicans, meanwhile, basked in the rumors that shot through the statehouse.

'About to get interesting'

Moore, whose caucus could now be even more assured of overriding Cooper’s vetoes, emerged from his office on Tuesday afternoon with a smile after initial reports of the party switch emerged. “I can neither confirm nor deny,” he said about Cotham's plans. He added later: “If there’s a surprise, then I wouldn’t want to spoil it, now would I?”

Michael Whatley, chairman of the state GOP, also declined to speak to Cotham’s intentions. “I'll let her speak for herself on that, but I'm pretty excited to be hosting her,” Whatley said, referring to the Wednesday news conference.

The House Republican caucus, meanwhile, held a closed door meeting Tuesday afternoon. At one point, a large round of applause could be heard from the room.

Earlier in the day, several Republicans treated unconfirmed rumors as if they were true.

“It’s about to get interesting around here,” said Sen. Jim Perry, the Senate’s majority whip.

“It's an exciting thing,” said Rep. John Torbett, a Republican who co-chairs the House Education Committee alongside Cotham. “I think it was a personal decision on her. She's a fine woman. Been here before, obviously knows the ropes. And you'll have to ask her as to the necessity of a change. But I've talked to so many others before that have made that change. And they said, in essence, ‘You know, I didn't leave the party. The party left me.’”

In November's elections, North Carolina Republicans won 30 seats in the Senate, giving them a veto-proof majority in the 50-seat chamber. House Republicans won 71 seats, one shy of a veto-proof majority in the 120-seat chamber.

All 170 state legislative seats were up during the election. Cotham won her Mecklenburg County seat with 59.2% of the vote.

Cotham is among the Democrats who had been considered more likely to work with Republican leadership this session, where vote margins will be closely watched and deals likely will be cut to pass GOP priorities over Cooper’s veto.

Democrats in the legislature had sustained 47 consecutive vetoes from Cooper, dating back to 2019. But Republicans were able to override a veto by Cooper just last week to change state law on pistol permits when three House Democrats, including Cotham, were not present for the vote.

The others were Rep. Michael Wray, one of the few remaining rural white Democrats in the legislature, and Rep. Cecil Brockman, who represents a district in High Point that’s just as solidly liberal as Cotham’s.

Cotham told Charlotte-area media last week that she was getting scheduled treatment for long COVID. She called the vote's outcome "unfortunate" and noted that she voted against the measure previously.

Following the vote, Cotham faced calls to resign by progressive groups.

Democratic ties, abortion views

Cotham hails from a family with strong Democratic ties. Her mother, Pat Cotham, has been a member of the Democratic National Committee and serves on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners.

The younger Cotham previously served in the state House from 2009 to 2017. She lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for the 12th Congressional District in 2016.

Her 2022 campaign website says she favors equality for all and says: "LGBTQ+ youth are under attack by Republican state legislatures across the country. I will stand strong against discriminatory legislation and work to pass more protections at the state level."

Not included among the six main issues on her campaign website: Abortion or women's productive rights. Many suburban Democrats ran explicitly on protecting abortion rights in 2022. In 2015, though, Cotham spoke out against a proposed 72-hour abortion waiting period, citing her own experience in needing the procedure.

On the House floor, Cotham told the story of having to undergo an abortion while serving in the House due to a life-threatening medical complication caused by her first pregnancy, which was not viable.

"It was awful, it was painful, and it was sad. It was, and is, personal," she said at the time. "This decision was up to me, my husband, my doctor and my God. It was not up to any of you in this chamber, and I didn’t take a survey."

Cotham accused Republican lawmakers of "wanting to play doctor” and said at the time tat the proposed waiting period "sends a message of shame to women who may have endured abortion for reasons you don’t know."

“Abortion is a deeply personal decision," Cotham finished. "My womb and my uterus is not up for your political grab. Legislators — you — do not hold shares in my body, so stop trying to manipulate my mind.”

Time Magazine reported on Cotham’s speech, as well as her experiences with constituents afterwards.

“I’ve had people flip me off, I’ve had people swerve at me” in their cars, she told the magazine, adding that a Republican colleague came up to her and called her a “baby-killer” after the session adjourned.

In her platform, Cotham favors raising the minimum wage to $15, enacting paid family and medical leave, expanding Medicaid, raising teacher pay, investing in early childhood and after-school programs, extending early voting, opposing attacks on democracy and protecting fundamental voting rights — many of which are policies the GOP strongly opposes. She also states that "stable and affordable housing should be a right, not a privilege."

WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Brian Murphy contributed to this report.