Challenger McCool defeats incumbent Cotham to flip NC House seat – WFAE 90.7

Challenger McCool defeats incumbent Cotham to flip NC House seat  WFAE 90.7

Democratic challenger Ken McCool held a large lead for a key state House seat over Republican incumbent Tricia Cotham. Democratic challenger Ken McCool handily defeated Republican incumbent Tricia Cotham on Tuesday, flipping a key state House seat in Mecklenburg County. District 105, which includes Mint Hill, Matthews, and parts of south Charlotte, is one of the few competitive seats on a heavily gerrymandered map. It's potentially crucial as Democrats seek to break the hold Republicans have had on the state House since 2010. Cotham is the only Republican out of the 13 state House members from Mecklenburg County. She infuriated Democrats in 2023, when she switched parties to join the Republicans after winning her seat in 2022 as a Democrat.

Republican lawmakers redrew Cotham’s district specifically for her, including the most conservative precincts of south Charlotte, to boost her chances. Democrats targeted her heavily in 2024, but Cotham still narrowly won reelection. She squeaked by with 213 votes, or one-third of a percentage point, in a district Kamala Harris narrowly won in the same election. McCool, a 28-year-old former Matthews commissioner, focused his campaign on affordability, public schools and bringing balance to the General Assembly. He played down Cotham's switch. "What I have told people is that the state should be run a little more like Matthews," McCool told WFAE