North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham officially switched to the Republican Party.
Cotham announced the switch with members of the North Carolina Republican Party at a press conference this morning:
The Republicans have super majorities in the House and the Senate, making both veto-proof.
Cotham’s reasons to leave the Democrat Party sound like the ones Tulsi Gabbard gave when she defected. It’s become too radical, the sexism, the attitudes, the controlling behavior, etc:
Cotham said the “modern-day democratic party has become unrecognizable to me and others across the state.”She said she felt pressure from the party to vote with the caucus, declaring, “I will not be controlled by anyone.”The representative said Democrats have been “blasting me on Twitter to calling me names, coming after my family, coming after my children. That is wrong.” She said that a woman cussed her out at a story while she was shopping with her sonThe turning point for Cotham, she said, was when she says she received criticism for using the American flag and praying hands emoji on social media and on her vehicles.
Democrats want Cotham to resign:
House Minority Leader Robert Reives, acknowledging Cotham’s decision on Tuesday, called on her to resign.Reives said Cotham had campaigned as a Democrat and someone who supported abortion rights, health care, public education, gun safety and civil rights, and that voters in her district “elected her to serve as that person and overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.”“Now, just a few months later, Rep. Cotham is changing parties. That is not the person that was presented to the voters of House District 112. That 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,” Reives said in a statement. “Those constituents deserved to know what values were most important to their elected representative.”
However, it sounds like Cotham has always been a moderate Democrat. She has worked with Republicans on many issues and hasn’t changed her positions.
It’ll be interesting to watch if the Republicans stick to their words and not go after Cotham when and if she disagrees with them, especially on major issues.
Rep. Cecil Brockman, another moderate Democrat, isn’t shocked by Cotham’s move nor is he surprised, especially due to the Democrats’ reaction: “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.”
I wonder if Brockman will eventually leave the Democrats.
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