‘A betrayal’: NC Democrats, White House blast Cotham’s decision to leave party, join GOP

The North Carolina Democratic Party continued to call on Rep. Tricia Cotham to resign Wednesday, calling her decision to leave the party and join the GOP “a betrayal.”

NCDP Chair Anderson Clayton, speaking at a press conference outside the party’s downtown Raleigh headquarters with supporters holding “resign” signs behind her, said that Cotham’s move to the Republican Party would have repercussions “not only for the people of her district, but for the entire state of North Carolina.”

“Reproductive freedoms are on the line. Our public schools are on the line. LGBTQ rights are on the line. Voting rights are on the line,” Clayton said. “Our future as a state is on the line.”

Clayton, who was recently elected to lead the state’s Democratic Party, ousting former two-term chair Bobbie Richardson, said the anger and frustration Democrats feel over Cotham’s departure from the party isn’t about politics or “political vendettas.”

“This is about the constituents that trusted Rep. Cotham to champion their values, who are now left with little reassurance that she will do that,” Clayton said.

Cotham’s move to the GOP provoked outrage from Democrats, not just throughout North Carolina, but in Washington as well.

The White House, in a statement, told McClatchy Wednesday that “bedrock American freedoms are at stake in votes” the state legislature has taken this session.

“Republicans in the General Assembly have attempted to force a wide range of extreme policies on the people of the Old North State, including criminalizing doctors and nurses involved with reproductive health care, prioritizing gun industry profits over the fight against violent crime and over children’s lives, and gutting funding for public schools,” said Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates.

“We sincerely hope that all members of the state house and state senate listen to their conscience — instead of politics — and put North Carolinians’ rights and the safety of their communities first.”

Democratic leader responds to Cotham

During Wednesday’s press conference, Cotham, a Mecklenburg legislator who was elected in 2022 and previously served from 2007 to 2016, said that she felt shunned by the House Democratic caucus. Ahead of the start of this year’s session, she said, some people warned her about the “toxicity and nastiness” she would encounter within her party.

Cotham also said she only attended one caucus meeting this year and brought cookies, treats and snacks, wanting to “be a part of the team” and help mentor freshman members. Instead, Cotham said, she was labeled a freshman herself and assigned a mentor.

House Minority Leader Robert Reives, speaking with reporters before the House session Wednesday, pushed back against Cotham’s assertions about how she was treated by Democrats, saying that no one in Democratic leadership had told her not to attend caucus meetings and that he had kept in touch with her in recent months.

“I’m not going to get into a tit-for-tat because I’m going to say this, she’s going to say that,” Reives said. “What I’m going to say is I’ve been friends with Tricia for nine years, we have talked to each other over that time, she’s reached out during some tough times I’ve had here when she’s not been here.”

Reives also addressed criticism from Cotham about tolerance within the party for dissenting views, and said that Democrats are encouraged to vote their conscience.

“People who you might categorize as having different views in the caucus, especially since I’ve been leader, will tell you what we do is, you give your position, you tell us why you have that position, and if that’s the position you’re going to take it doesn’t matter what everybody else is going to do,” Reives said. “What that helps us do is informs us as a caucus how to move forward.”

On Tuesday, soon after news of Cotham’s decision was first reported, Reives said she should resign.

McClatchy DC Senior National Security and White House Correspondent Michael Wilner contributed to this report.