talked to her before the primary. so, we know that from the very get-go, gop, sort of, deep rooted interests within north carolina were backing trisha cotham. they say they didn t know that she was gonna switch parties. they say they regarded her as a centrist democrat in a redrawn this rick that was gonna go to a democrat regardless. they wanted someone who would reach across the aisle. and to be fair, that is some of her mystery, some sort of collaborative impulses with republicans on certain issues. however, you are very right to point out that she ran on a pro-choice agenda. she ran as an ally to the lgbtq community. she ran at someone that was gonna get local sheriffs autonomy when it came to going along with ice, among many other policy decisions which now are effectively reversed with her votes, commentary, and other signals. yes, and you guys write how trisha cotham s victory november help democrats locked in enough states to prevent, by a single vote, a republican
future babies would be in severe danger. abortion is a deeply personal decision. it should not be a political debate. my womb and my uterus is not up for your political grab. so, what on earth let that person, someone who spoke out passionately for abortion rights, and just ran last year as a pro-choice democrat, to suddenly betrayed her voters. two new york times reporters did a deep dive on the very suspicious party switching of tricia cotham that, quote, blew up north carolina politics. kate kelly, a washington post pundit for the new york times was on that story, and she joins me now. kate, thanks so much for coming on the show. you report that some big name north carolina party figures encouraged cotham to run in the primary in 2022, but they weren t democratic party figures, were there? no, the majority leader of the republican party then and now spoke to trisha cotham before she filed for the primary last march and encouraged her to run. and we also learned that the speaker
i think she will is so well-spoken that if she decides to have more of a prominent position in the republican party, they will do that. people that switch parties are more strongly convicted than people that have been there for a long time. she was gracious this morning. i thought she was great, too. i saw her this morning. one of the things that she said, harold, is that she was crucified as i said earlier, that the democrat party abandoned here. she refused to put unions in front of children and education. she refused to put communities against the defund the police. she has strong feelings. do you see yourself in that same party where you have those same feelings of putting community ahead of unions, making sure the communities are safe as opposed to defunding police? i m first of all, i salute this young woman for doing what i think every public servant
campaign, to oppose for the restrictions of abortion. she was backed by families who work to support women candidates who are pro abortion rights. and she won that seats with 59% of the vote. then what shots of the legislature ship the filter campaign promise, by signing on as a co sponsor to a bill that would codify roe v. wade s abortion protections in the state of north carolina. in fact, on the state house s website, to this day she is still listed on the bill as a cosponsor. but in april, just five months after she was elected, as a democrat, who want to secure abortion rights. out of the blue, trisha cotham switched apartments. and that switch parties, it was that decision, and her vote that then turn the republican majority in north carolina into a supermajority. here s her incredibly roundabout non explanation for why she took such a
"I put my heart and soul into the Democratic Party and just came to the conclusion that I can't be active anymore," Mark Haugen said. "We just needed to part our ways and go in different directions."