Tricia Cotham

In March 2007, Cotham was appointed by Governor Mike Easley to the 100th district on the recommendation of local Democratic Party leaders to replace state Representative James B. Black, who had resigned. Cotham was co-chair of the House's K-12 Education subcommittee from 2008–2010.

In 2008, she was named UNC Chapel Hill's School of Education's Young Alumna of the Year and the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) graded Cotham an "A+" Legislator.

Prior to serving in the legislature, Cotham began her first year of classroom teaching in 2001, where she taught social studies and was named Most Outstanding First Year Middle School Teacher of the East Region of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District. She started her first year as an Assistant Principal at East Mecklenburg High School in the fall of 2006 and was appointed to the legislature in March 2007.

Cotham chose not to run for re-election in 2016.[2] She later said she would consider running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the newly redrawn 12th congressional district.[3] Cotham filed to run for the seat on March 21, 2016, but lost the primary to incumbent Congresswoman Alma Adams.[4]

In 2022, she won an election to return to the North Carolina House of Representatives.

In April 2023, it was announced Cotham was expected to switch parties from Democratic to Republican.[5] WRAL-TV in North Carolina reported on April 4 that Cotham had already changed her party registration.[6]

On April 5, 2023, Cotham left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party, giving the latter a veto-proof majority, allowing them to pass bills without negotiating with the Democratic Governor. She said fellow Democrats "blast[ed] me on Twitter to calling me names, coming after my family, coming after my children. That is wrong." She also said the turning point was the hounding of her using the American flag on social media and on her vehicles.[7] In another interview she said "she felt bullied by Democrats and wanted to switch to a party that felt more welcoming." Cotham ran on a platform of "raising the minimum wage, protecting voting rights and bolstering LGBTQ rights".[8][9]

In 2023, before her party switch, she had voted to codify Roe v. Wade into law.[10] 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."[11] In 2023, Cotham voted in favor of a ban on abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy (which is about half of what was allowed under Roe v. Wade).[12][10] According to Jezebel, a former campaign aide, who had resigned a month prior to her party switch, stated that the change boiled down to her being "stuck on the idea that her Democratic colleagues didn’t like her" and that she "had also been annoyed that Planned Parenthood didn’t endorse her, despite her self-described “very powerful” speech on abortion rights," even though she "blew off the actual endorsement interview for the group multiple times". The staffer also stated that "Cotham... didn’t attend freshman orientation, and skipped caucus gatherings" and that "for her to vote for this is not just a betrayal of her district, but it’s a betrayal of who she has portrayed herself to be for her entire life."[13] Cotham claimed that she had been "left out" of the Caucus meetings.[14]

Cotham's mother, Pat Cotham, is a former Democratic National Committee member and currently a member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, having been elected in 2012.[15]

Cotham was married to state Democratic Party chair Jerry Meek. The two have since divorced.[16]

Cotham has two sons.[17] Cotham lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Cotham identifies herself as a Christian.[18]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tricia Cotham.

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