When Tricia Cotham ran for the North Carolina House last year to represent Mecklenburg County, she did so as a veteran Democratic lawmaker on a promise to protect abortion rights.
“Now, more than ever we need leaders who will be unwavering and unapologetic in their support of abortion rights,” Cotham tweeted on May 3, 2022, the day after the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade leaked. Cotham promised to “fight to codify Roe” and pledged in a Planned Parenthood questionnaire to “oppose any legislation that restricts abortion access.”
Not only did Cotham ultimately renege on every one of those promises, she also provided House Republicans with the power to make sure Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper couldn’t block the GOP’s 12-week abortion ban.