CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina State Representative Tricia Cotham has officially switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. This switch now gives Republicans a supermajority in Raleigh.
But there are a lot of questions surrounding this switch. A lot of comments on our social media pages showed frustration about this change, while others praised Cotham for making the move.
There was one common question of how this can happen after she was elected as a Democrat in November.
OUR SOURCES
- Catawba College Political Science Professor Dr. Michael Bitzer
- The North Carolina General Assembly
- The United States Senate
WHAT WE FOUND
Dr. Bitzer said any person at any time can decide to change their political party.
"You are not locked into a party affiliation for the rest of your life. People change and we all revolve," Bitzer said. "If you do not feel at home and you have grave concerns you have recourses you have other options and you have the freedom to go through options."
There are no laws in place that would make it illegal for a person to switch parties while in office.
In fact, Bitzer said it’s happened many times before.
Here are some examples:
- In 2003, Representative Michael Decker switched from the Republican party to the Democratic party.
- In 2017, Representative William Brisson switched from the Democratic party to the Republican party.
The United States Senate also lists more than 20 switches dating back to 1890.
"Across the country, we have seen these party switches, particularly in state legislators often times it's someone who feels out of place within their former political party," Bitzer said.
By the way, there is no recall set in place in North Carolina. If a representative decides to switch parties. All anyone can do is ask for the person to resign, but that would be up to them.
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