Rep. Tricia Cotham filed a bill with a couple significant differences than a similar transit bill in the NC Senate. In this November 2024 file photo, Cotham speaks at the General Assembly in Raleigh.

North Carolina Rep. Tricia Cotham, who defected from the Democratic Party Tuesday to join the Republican Party, said Wednesday that she felt stifled by the party she was aligned with for years.

Rep. Tricia Cotham speaks about funding for private school vouchers prior to a vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a budget bill in the House at the General Assembly in Raleigh on Tuesday ...

Rep. Tricia Cotham speaks about funding for private school vouchers prior to a vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a budget bill in the House at the General Assembly in Raleigh on Tuesday ...

Rep. Tricia Cotham speaks about funding for private school vouchers prior to a vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a budget bill in the House at the General Assembly in Raleigh on Tuesday ...

Stein was joined by Rep. Tricia Cotham and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles at the bill signing. County commissioners now must place the measure on the 2025 ballot.

Tricia Cotham also gained national attention in 2015 with an emotional speech on the floor of the N.C. House detailing her own experience with having an abortion for medical reasons.

Rep. Tricia Cotham speaks about funding for private school vouchers prior to a vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a budget bill in the House at the General Assembly in Raleigh on Tuesday ...

In N.C. House District 105, Republican Tricia Cotham waged her first re-election campaign after switching political parties, against Democrat Nicole Sidman.

Nicole Sidman, left, and Tricia Cotham, right, are running for the N.C. House District 105 seat, which covers parts of southern and eastern Mecklenburg County. Observer & N&O file photos The ...