North Carolina Democrat switches parties giving Republicans veto-proof supermajority in state House

(CNN) — North Carolina Republicans gained a veto-proof supermajority in the state House after a Charlotte-area Democrat announced Wednesday she was switching parties.

State Rep. Tricia Cotham, who won as a Democrat in her blue district last fall by nearly 20 points, said at a news conference in Raleigh that “the modern-day Democratic Party has become unrecognizable to me.”

“I am no longer a Democrat, but I remain a public servant, that is what I am called to do. The party that represents me and my principles and what is best for North Carolina is the Republican Party,” Cotham, wearing a red dress and surrounded by her new Republican colleagues, said outside the state GOP headquarters in Raleigh.

“I am a single mom of two amazing sons, a teacher, a small-business owner, a woman with strong faith, a national championship basketball coach, and a public servant. Today I add Republican to that list,” she said, noting that she had “been welcomed with open arms” by her new colleagues.

Cotham’s switch could have major implications for lawmaking in the Tar Heel State. Republicans already held a supermajority in the North Carolina Senate. Cotham’s flip gives them 72 seats in the state House – and enough votes in both chambers to override any veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Cotham’s plan to switch parties was first reported by Axios. CNN has reached out to Cotham about the party switch.

Cotham served in the state House as a Democrat for nearly a decade before stepping away in 2016. She ran again in 2022, winning a crowded Democratic primary and then the general election for the newly drawn House District 112 in southeastern Mecklenburg County.

At the news conference Wednesday, Cotham said that “the turning point for me was when I was criticized for using the American flag and the praying hands emoji on all my social media platforms and even on the back of different vehicles that I have.”

“I really could not believe that that was the conversations that was happening at that time, and I was deeply offended,” she said, adding that “to say that that is wrong and not to be able to show off a flag because the others hijack it for something else, why are we at this place in politics?”

North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement Wednesday that Cotham’s announcement “continues to reflect that the Democratic Party is too radical for North Carolina.”

“The values of the Republican Party align with voters, and the People of Mecklenburg County should be proud to have her representation in Raleigh,” he said.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel also welcomed Cotham to the GOP, saying in a statement Wednesday, “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.”

UNCW Professor Nadine Gibson, UNCW Assistant Professor of Public and International Affairs said, “In this case of House Member Cotham, she is switching her affiliation to the republicans, who are the ones in charge of the legislature — who make the laws. So, they are happy to have democrats change their party affiliation to become republicans.”

She compared Cotham’s party switch to another recent case outside of North Carolina.

She said, “The best parallel to Tricia Cotham, is Kyrsten Sinema and the U.S. Senate. Kyrsten Sinema recently changed her affiliation from the democratic party to independent. People feel that they were short changed for their vote, right? That they voted for a democrat, who would be working with other democrats, yet — when they got into office they did not do what they promised to their voters.”

Gibson added that she doesn’t anticipate the North Carolina Legislature taking any action against Cotham for switching her party affiliation.