Tricia Ann Cotham

Cotham's key issues are fighting inflation, "protecting our community" (she voted to require sheriffs to cooperate with immigration officials, and "putting kids first" (she wants to expand Opportunity Scholarships, i.e. school vouchers that are pro-school choice). Cotham served in the state house for five terms as a Democrat. She switched parties in 2023, giving the Republicans a supermajority that year. At the time, she explained that she had "grown alienated from the Democratic party."  She is Vice-Chairman of the Appropriations and Health committees in the N.C. House. She was the primary sponsor on 55 bills in the most recent legislative session, including defunding Planned Parenthood and protecting access to in-vitro fertilization. She was present for 601 of 802 votes in the current legislative session, placing her in the bottom tenth of participation for House members, and with the second highest rate of non-voting in the Mecklenburg delegation.