Thread by @BryanRAnderson

Incoming Thread: Here at NCGOP headquarters, where Rep. Tricia Cotham will announce she’s switching parties and will give GOP a supermajority. #ncpol

Story from yesterday about her decision. Will have another story day after she explains her thought process. #ncpol

andersonalerts.substack.com/p/cotham-plann…

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NCGOP has announced Cotham's move via Twitter before press conference begins.

"We are thrilled to have Rep. Cotham join the Republican Party to advance solutions for North Carolina families," says NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley in news release. #ncpol

https://twitter.com/NCGOP/status/1643600629539958786?s=20

Presser underway.

Republican House Speaker Tim Moore is first speaker, says of Cotham: "We understand that having a big tent with ideas across the spectrum is not just what makes a party healthy, but governing effective." #ncpol

Moore: "She's not the only Democrat that we've had great conversations with," alluding to possibility of more Democrats joining Cotham in switching parties. #ncpol

Cotham makes it official: "Today, I add Republican to that list. I have decided to change my party affiliation." #ncpol

Cotham makes first dig at Democrats: "This modern-day Democratic Party has become unrecognizable to me. ... The party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought." #ncpol

Cotham said her reservations began in January: "It became very clear to me in January that you better vote in line with everything Governor Cooper tells you to do. ... I will not be controlled by anyone." #ncpol

Cotham voices frustration: "I will not be bullied by them and I will protect my children and my family." She says a turning point in her Democratic identity came when she says she faced backlash for using a prayer emoji in her social media handles. #ncpol

Cotham on Democratic Party: "They did not want me and they tried to do everything to defeat me." She alludes to colleagues criticizing her privately and on social media. #ncpol

COTHAM: "I'm not a politician, I'm no longer a Democrat, but I remain a public servant." #ncpol

Sen. Phil Berger: "I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to be associated with those people either. ... The Democratic Party seems to value ideological purity and adherence to whatever the superior individuals says is the right way to think. That is not the American way." #ncpol

Cotham: "You're welcoming until you don't go with everything, and there's no room for negotiation. ... I'm not going to fit in a box." #ncpol

Cotham won't say whether she'd support 13-week abortion ban : "Im never someone that this was the biggest issue facing women in North Carolina. ... I'm not going to say there's a week here or a week there. ... There's not a bill before us right now." #ncpol

Cotham slams House Democratic Leader Robert Reives, says he "showed the low blow of where we are as an institution" when suggesting last week she should resign or be primaried. "He's never talked to me all session. I've tried. I've reached out. I've tried to help." #ncpol

"I left the legislature for deeply personal and family reasons," Cotham said.

Fact-check: She also left after losing a congressional primary in 2016. #ncpol

Moore on whether he'll seek to protect Cotham through redistricting: "Incumbency is always taken into account. But beyond that, no determination has been made." #ncpol