North Carolina Democrat Flips Parties, Gives Republicans Supermajority in State House

Facts

• On Wednesday, North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham announced she was switching parties, thereby giving Republicans enough votes to override any veto from Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.¹
• This move comes as a surprise to several lawmakers as she had served the party for over a decade in a blue district, representing Charlotte, the state's biggest city. North Carolina Democrats denounced her move, urging her to resign from office.²
• Born in a Democrat family in Mecklenburg County, Cotham is married to the former Chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party and has voted in Democratic primaries since at least 2005. Yet, she claims that her former colleagues bullied her for failing to conform to what they wanted her to do.³
• She has said that the Democratic Party does not represent her, after receiving internal criticism for using the American flag and the praying hands emoji on all her social media platforms.⁴
• She has consistently opposed new abortion restrictions and supported LGBTQ rights in line with the Democratic Party, but she has also voted with the GOP since returning to the state House in January, including on a bill requiring sheriffs to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.⁵
• Shortly after the switch, North Carolina state Republicans filed six bills focused on transgender issues, which have previously been stalled by Gov. Cooper's power of veto.⁶

Sources: ¹Abc news, ²Washington examiner, ³Carolina journal, ⁴CNN, ⁵NPR Online News and ⁶FOX News.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Politicsnc. Cotham should be representing the people of her district, yet she is exclusively focused on protecting her political future. Her decision to switch parties is traitorous and indicates she lacks the dignity of character and moral convictions. In addition, her claims against the Democratic Party make her a hypocrite, who has turned a blind eye to the flaws and cruel mainstream GOP agenda.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Red State. Despite being a lifelong Democrat representing a reliably blue district, Cotham has outright decided to switch allegiance to the Republicans. This is not the decision of someone playing politics, but rather a mounting trend among moderate Democrats who have been trashed as the woke echo chamber continues to take over the party.

Predictions