DOUBLE AGENT

Turncoat North Carolina Dem Was Courted by GOP Even Before Election

A number of Republicans acknowledged encouraging Tricia Cotham to run for office while she was still a Democrat.

North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham became a Democratic enemy earlier this year when she suddenly switched parties, joining the GOP from the Democratic Party and casting a deciding vote that dealt a blow to abortion rights in the state. But now The New York Times reports that Republicans were actually the ones who encouraged Cotham to run in the first place, well before she left the Democratic Party. John Bell, the state Republican majority leader, was one of them. “I encouraged her to run because she was a really good member when she served before,” Bell told The New York Times. Cotham campaigned on a number of progressive social issues. But since her switch to the GOP, she’s already voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors, voted to outlaw race or gender discussions in job interviews, and contributed to the conservative social agenda in numerous other ways.