State Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg Democrat, is expected to formally switch parties and join the House Republican caucus, according to multiple media outlets.
Cotham, who has earned a reputation as a swing vote due to her willingness to vote with Republicans on certain key bills, is expected to publicly announce her decision to change party affiliation on Wednesday, reported Axios Raleigh, which was the first to report the news.
A party switch by Cotham would mean Republicans control 72 out of 120 House seats, giving them enough seats to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on their own. Republicans in the Senate already have a supermajority in that chamber, controlling 30 out of 50 seats.
Cotham’s decision to become a Republican would have major ramifications for the last two years of Cooper’s final term, since GOP leaders, having come within one seat of total legislative control, have promised to revisit bills the governor successfully vetoed in the past, and pass contentious bills on their own.
Cotham didn’t respond to several messages left by The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer.
A spokesperson for GOP House Speaker Tim Moore declined to comment, as did House Minority Leader Robert Reives.
Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat, said a move by Cotham to the Republican side of the aisle would be “very disappointing” but said she “certainly” wasn’t surprised.
Fellow Democrat doesn’t blame Cotham ‘one bit’
Rep. Cecil Brockman, a Guilford Democrat, said Democrats only had themselves to blame.
He pointed to the barrage of criticism he and Cotham received from within the party last week, along with another Democrat, Rep. Michael Wray of Halifax County, when Republicans were able to successfully override Cooper’s veto of controversial gun rights legislation that repealed the state’s permit law for buying handguns.
The override vote was the first time Republicans had successfully overturned a veto from the governor since 2018, and came down to absences by Brockman, Cotham and Wray. The fewer number of voting lawmakers translated to a lower threshold for Republicans to override the veto. With three absences, Republicans needed 71 votes, not 72.
Brockman said he thought the reaction from Democrats and party officials had pushed Cotham to switch parties. He also said he knows how she feels, and doesn’t blame her “one bit.”
“I think she just wanted to do what’s best for her district and when you’re constantly talked about and trashed — especially the way that we have been over the past few weeks — I think this is what happens,” Brockman told The News & Observer.
Asked what he thought about Cotham’s decision resulting in a proper Republican supermajority, Brockman said Democrats should be more introspective.
“I hope the (Democratic) party takes a strong look at how they react to people making the decisions that they make — they put themselves in this position,” Brockman said.
Rep. John Torbett, a Gaston Republican, said he felt Cotham’s switch over to his party was “an exciting thing.”
“I think it was a personal decision on her,” Torbett said. “She’s a fine woman, been here before, obviously knows the ropes and you’ll have to ask her as to the necessity of the change.”
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