Axios reported Tuesday that Democratic state Rep. Tricia Cotham in North Carolina planned to switch to the Republican Party on Wednesday and give Republicans a three-fifths supermajority, news Democratic leader Robert Reives confirmed hours later as he called for her resignation.
Since the GOP already has exactly a three-fifths edge in the state Senate (thanks to gerrymanders that were ruled unconstitutional in December), the switch would enable them to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes and put constitutional amendments on the ballot―a development that could lead to many significant policy changes such as new restrictions on abortion rights, voting access, and much more.