Victim or Traitor? Legislator Changes Parties and Puts Thousands of Immigrants at Risk

In early April, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina won a supermajority in the General Assembly, which means it is able to override vetoes by the governor, who is a Democrat. This happened not because they won enough seats at the polls, but because of the surprise desertion of a Democratic lawmaker who switched over to the Republican Party. This changes the balance of power in the state and could harm thousands of immigrants.

While everyone has the right to choose their party affiliation, state legislator Tricia Cotham’s suspiciously “well-timed” change of political party leaves multiple ethical questions hanging in the air. Did Cotham have a sudden shift in ideals, or did she mislead voters?

Tricia Cotham: misunderstood legislator or Trojan horse?

Representative Cotham took her most recent position in the North Carolina Legislative Assembly in January 2023. In just over three months, she had a transformation from Democrat to Republican.

During the announcement of her change of party on April 5, Cotham claimed that her decision was personal. She said that it was motivated by alleged attacks and threats against her, as well as by “bullying” from Democrats. However, she did not present evidence and did not give any names.

Assuming such accusations are true, does this mean that her supporters suddenly decided to “bully” her? If this problem had been going on for a while, why did she run as a Democrat in last November’s elections? Why did she accept thousands of dollars from the voters for her campaign as a Democratic candidate?

Some suspect that the lawmaker knew she couldn’t win the election in her district if she ran as a Republican.

First elected in 2007, Tricia Cotham represented a suburban

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district of Mecklenburg County that historically leaned Democratic.

On November 8, 2022, Cotham received nearly 60% of the votes in the NC House of Representatives District 112 race, defeating Republican Tony Long.

It’s perfectly understandable when a person leaves a place or organization because they don’t feel comfortable. But why did Cotham join the Republicans instead of declaring herself an Independent? Why not just resign from her position? Does she really represent the district that she won in the elections?

Some believe that Cotham’s change was due to a predetermined calculation and not a sudden change of heart. Many consider this deception.

“Representative Cotham reneged on her commitments to the thousands of constituents she promised to represent. She should resign and refund the funds used to win her seat,” said Rev. Glencie Rhedrick, Co-Chair for Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice, an interdenominational group of clergy and laity.

Immigrants on a tightrope

Cotham is not the first politician in the state to switch parties, but she is the one that caused an imbalance of power that could have significant consequences. Now Gov. Roy Cooper has no way to curb Republican power in the legislature.

Since he took office in 2017, Cooper has vetoed 76 bills. For example, in July of last year, the governor vetoed an antiimmigrant bill that sought to force police departments, sheriff’s departments, and state jails to turn over information about certain detainees to immigration authorities. Today, a similar bill, HB-10, will almost inevitably pass the General Assembly, as will other anti-immigrant bills. Who will stop them?

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