RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — At a morning press conference, North Carolina state representative Tricia Cotham made a change.

“The party that best represents me, my principles, and what’s best for North Carolina is the Republican party,” said Cotham.

Some voters like Ed Stem think it was a bad move.

“It’s a 100% difference in Democrats and Republicans, “Stem said. “With her switching, she’s got to be changing her philosophy because the Republicans think different than the rest of the world.”

The announcement sent shockwaves through the community.

Tricia Cotham received 59% of the votes in the 2022 general election.

“When I lost, I was hurt,” said Mint Hill commissioner Tony Long. “However, she’s my representative.”

Long says some residents have voiced their concern, “Disappointed, they supported, in what they felt like was a short time.”

However, Long has been working with Cotham since she took office in January, helping people in District 112.

Others say this will change the state’s political landscape.

“You vote for a Democrat; you think you’re going to get someone who votes on Democratic issues, said Davidson College political science professor Susan Roberts. “You vote for a Republican; you think you’ll get some guarantee.”

That is going to be the test, according to Roberts.

The move is a guarantee the Republican agenda will be pushed through in Raleigh. Tricia Cotham ran on issues contrary to that agenda, and now people will have to see and hope she votes with her constituents in mind like others on the national level.

“In the U.S. Senate, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, they’re voting their constituents,” added Roberts. “And is she voting for her constituents in this case? I would say no because it was the Democrats that elected her. So the people in her district and the Black political caucus feel betrayed.”