RALEIGH, N.C. — To hear state Rep. Tricia Cotham tell it, the former Democrat joined the GOP this month because Democrats pushed her out.
Cotham’s decision wasn’t just an intriguing personal story: her family has been involved in the Democratic Party for decades. It was a tectonic shift in North Carolina politics, giving the GOP the seat it needed to gain a legislative supermajority. If Republicans vote as a bloc, they’ll be able to override the vetoes of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Explaining her decision to switch parties during an April 5 press conference, Cotham described Cooper as controlling. But Democrats are now refuting her other comments.
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