Tricia Cotham

Jerry Meek

​

​

(m. 2008,divorced)​

Tricia Cotham
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2023
Children	2
Relatives	Pat Cotham (mother)
Education	University of North Carolina, Charlotte (BA) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (MPA)

Patricia Ann Cotham (born November 26, 1978) is an American politician, lobbyist and former schoolteacher. She is a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 112th district, based in Mecklenburg County.

Cotham represented the 100th district in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 as a Democrat. She was elected as a Democrat in 2022 to represent District 112. Cotham formally changed her affiliation to the Republican Party on April 5, 2023, granting the North Carolina House Republicans a supermajority. Prior to her party switch, Cotham had campaigned on a traditional Democratic Party platform and had voted for abortion rights legislation. Shortly after her party switch, Cotham cast the deciding vote for legislation to restrict abortion access in North Carolina.

Career

In March 2007, Cotham was appointed to represent the 100th district in the North Carolina House of Representatives to replace Rep. Jim Black, who had resigned. ^[1] She was elected to the House in 2008, and was re-elected in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Cotham was co-chair of the House's K-12 Education subcommittee from 2008–2010.^{[ citation needed ]}

Cotham is a "former CMS Teacher of the Year and assistant principal of East Mecklenburg and Independence high schools". ^[2]

In 2015, Cotham gave a speech on the House floor explaining that she had had an abortion, saying, "This decision was up to me, my husband, my doctor and my God. It was not up to any of you in this chamber." ^[3]

Cotham chose not to run for re-election in 2016 to pursue a U.S. congressional seat. ^[4] She later said she would consider running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the newly redrawn 12th congressional district. ^[5] Cotham filed to run for the U.S. House seat on March 21, 2016, but lost the Democratic primary to incumbent Congresswoman Alma Adams. ^[6]

In 2019, Cotham and three partners founded the lobbying firm BCHL. She worked as a registered lobbyist, routinely engaging with the leadership in the North Carolina General Assembly. ^[7]

In 2022, Cotham sought to return to the North Carolina House of Representatives. Some Republican political leaders in North Carolina recruited her to run for office as a Democrat. ^[7] Reporting uncovered the Cotham campaign disengaged with key Democratic allies during the primary, such as Planned Parenthood, and she had a long-rumored romantic relationship with Speaker Tim Moore, though Cotham has denied it. ^[8] Moore has been sued for his personal affairs with other married women. ^[9] This time, she ran for the House in the 112th district, defeating Republican Tony Long, 59.2%-40.8%. ^[10] Cotham ran on a platform of raising the minimum wage, protecting voting rights and supporting LGBTQ rights. ^[11]

In early 2023, Cotham voted to codify the abortion-related Roe v. Wade decision into state law. ^[12]

On April 4, 2023, WRAL-TV reported that Cotham had changed her party registration from Democratic to Republican. ^[13] On April 5, 2023, Cotham announced that she had left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party. Cotham's move gave House Republicans a veto-proof majority that allowed them to pass legislation without negotiating with North Carolina's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper. Cotham stated that fellow Democrats had criticized her on Twitter, called her names, and had been "coming after [her] family, coming after [her] children". She also said the turning point was a situation in which she was hounded for using the American flag on social media and on her vehicles. ^[14] In another interview, she said "she felt bullied by Democrats and wanted to switch to a party that felt more welcoming". ^[15]

In May 2023, Cotham voted in favor of a ban on abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. ^{[16] [12]} Cotham's deciding vote ^[17] enabled Republicans to override Gov. Cooper's veto and enact the legislation. ^{[18] [19]} North Carolina Rep. Wesley Harris accused Cotham of having lied to the voters, Alexis McGill Johnson of Planned Parenthood admonished Cotham, and former aides spoke out against her "abortion betrayal". ^[20]

Personal life and family

Cotham's mother, Pat Cotham, was elected to the Democratic National Committee in 2010. ^[21] As of 2023, Pat Cotham is a member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, having been first elected in 2012. ^[22]

Tricia Cotham was married to state Democratic Party chair Jerry Meek in late 2008. ^[23] The two have since divorced. ^[24]

Cotham has two sons. ^[25] She is a Christian. ^[26]

Electoral history

2024

North Carolina House of Representatives 105th district general election, 2024 ^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tricia Cotham (incumbent)	27,303	50.20%
	Democratic	Nicole Sidman	27,087	49.80%
Total votes			54,390	100%
	Republican hold

2022

North Carolina House of Representatives 112th district Democratic primary election, 2022 ^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham	2,385	47.81%
	Democratic	Yolanda Holmes	1,559	31.25%
	Democratic	Jay Holman	853	17.10%
	Democratic	Rodney Moore	192	3.85%
Total votes			4,989	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 112th district general election, 2022 ^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham	15,389	59.22%
	Republican	Tony Long	10,597	40.78%
Total votes			25,986	100%
	Democratic win (new seat)

2016

North Carolina's 12th congressional district Democratic primary election, 2016 ^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alma Adams (incumbent)	12,400	42.51%
	Democratic	Malcolm Graham	8,428	28.89%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham	6,165	21.13%
	Democratic	Carla Cunningham	1,255	4.30%
	Democratic	Gardenia Henley	444	1.52%
	Democratic	Rodney Moore	245	0.84%
	Democratic	Rick Miller	235	0.81%
Total votes			29,172	100%

2014

North Carolina House of Representatives 100th district general election, 2014 ^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham (incumbent)	12,707	100%
Total votes			12,707	100%
	Democratic hold

2012

North Carolina House of Representatives 100th district general election, 2012 ^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham (incumbent)	24,217	100%
Total votes			24,217	100%
	Democratic hold

2010

North Carolina House of Representatives 100th district general election, 2010 ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham (incumbent)	9,578	100%
Total votes			9,578	100%
	Democratic hold

2008

North Carolina House of Representatives 100th district Democratic primary election, 2008 ^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham (incumbent)	7,685	78.83%
	Democratic	Lloyd Scher	2,064	21.17%
Total votes			9,749	100%

North Carolina House of Representatives 100th district general election, 2008 ^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tricia Cotham (incumbent)	19,548	74.07%
	Republican	Tom White	6,843	25.93%
Total votes			26,391	100%
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Primary in House race down to rematch". NCNewsline.com. April 28, 2008.
2. Peralta Soloff, Katie; Chemtob, Danielle (April 4, 2023). "Tricia Cotham, a Charlotte Democrat switching parties, is a former educator from a family of politicians". Axios.
3. "NC House approves three-day abortion waiting period". WRAL. April 23, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
4. Morrill, Jim (October 3, 2015). "Rep. Tricia Cotham won't run for re-election". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
5. "Malcolm Graham files paperwork in Congressional District 12 race". WSOC. March 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
6. "NC State Board of Elections". Archived from the original on March 21, 2016.
7. Kelly, Kate; Perlmutt, David (July 30, 2023). "Inside the Party Switch that Blew Up North Carolina Politics". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331.
8. "Turns Out Tricia Cotham was a Plant All Along; Jezebel". www.jezebel.com.
9. "NC Speaker Tim Moore's Growing List of Scandals". www.axios.com.
10. "North Carolina State House - District 112 Election Results | The Indianapolis Star". www.indystar.com.
11. Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan (April 4, 2023). "N.C. lawmaker flips parties, handing state GOP a veto-proof majority". Washington Post.
12. Wolf, Zachary B. (May 15, 2023). "One vote to redraw the US abortion rights map". CNN.
13. Doran, Will; Specht, Paul; Leslie, Laura (April 4, 2023). "Democrat Cotham defects, giving GOP veto-proof majority in NC House". WRAL-TV . Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
14. Kliegman, Aaron (April 5, 2023). "North Carolina lawmaker officially leaves Dems for GOP, says turning point was American flag criticism". Fox News. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
15. Corasaniti, Nick; Vigdor, Neil (April 5, 2023). "Democrat's U-Turn to Join the G.O.P. Upends North Carolina Politics". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
16. Bergeron, Josh (May 3, 2023). "Wavering Democrat sticks with party on abortion vote; Cotham votes with rest of GOP". The News & Observer. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
17. Kitchener, Caroline; Roubein, Rachel (2023). "North Carolina bans abortion past 12 weeks, overriding governor veto". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286.
18. "How one North Carolina lawmaker's defection from the Democratic Party upended abortion protections". AP NEWS. May 19, 2023.
19. "With abortion vote, did Tricia Cotham flip-flop on protecting reproductive rights?". WRAL.com. May 17, 2023.
20. ""Shame": Protests and outrage as former Democrat paves the way for North Carolina abortion ban". Salon. May 17, 2023.
21. Stancill, Jane (August 2, 2010). "Cotham wins spot on Democratic National Committee". News & Observer. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
22. "Pat Cotham, At Large". BOCC.MeckNC.gov. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
23. "Democratic party head in N.C. will step down". November 21, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
24. "Republicans gain veto-proof control in North Carolina after Democrat switches parties". CBS News. April 5, 2023. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
25. "NC House member from Mecklenburg gives birth to 2nd child". WSOC TV. September 30, 2013.
26. Creitz, Charles (April 5, 2023). "Charlotte Democrat switched parties after being called 'ammosexual,' critiqued for invoking Jesus Christ". WDBD FOX 40. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
27. North Carolina State Board of Elections.
28. 2022 North Carolina House Primary Election Results Archived 2022-09-20 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.
29. 2022 North Carolina House General Election Results North Carolina State Board of Elections.
30. 2016 U.S. House Primary Election Results Archived 2022-10-05 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.
31. 2014 North Carolina House General Election Results Archived 2022-10-06 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.
32. 2012 North Carolina House General Election Results Archived 2022-10-05 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.
33. 2010 North Carolina House General Election Results Archived 2022-10-01 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.
34. 2008 North Carolina House Primary Election Results Archived 2022-10-06 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.
35. 2008 North Carolina House General Election Results Archived 2023-04-05 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina State Board of Elections.

External links

• Official legislative page
• Twitter
• Official campaign site (archived)

North Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by Jim Black	Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 100th district 2007–2017	Succeeded by John Autry
Preceded by David Rogers	Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 112th district 2023–Present	Incumbent
Preceded by Wesley Harris	Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 105th district 2025–	Incumbent