A new face in Tricia Cotham’s old district will become NC’s youngest legislator
Jordan Lopez knew he wanted to run for public office one day, but at just 25 years old, he didn’t think that day would come anytime soon.
But when North Carolina’s new legislative maps were released, the opportunity revealed itself far more quickly than expected.
The maps drawn by Republican lawmakers left his state House district — one that leaned Democratic and had no incumbent — wide open. People began to ask him about running for the seat, and at first, he wasn’t so sure. But after receiving more encouragement throughout the community, Lopez decided to launch a campaign.
As it turned out, the election was over before it even really began. Lopez was the only candidate from either party to enter the race, making his appearance on the ballot in November a mere formality. Come 2025, he’ll be the representative for House District 112, which will run from east Charlotte up to UNC Charlotte.
Representing District 112 is a bit of a full-circle moment for Lopez, who was born and raised in east Charlotte. His immediate family still lives here, including his sister, who can’t quite believe she’ll be voting for her brother in November.
“People who have watched me grow up, who are a part of me growing up and becoming the person that I am, will be my constituents,” Lopez said. “It’s a really, really humbling feeling … This is home.”
District 112 is significant for another reason, too: in its current form, it encompasses east Charlotte, Matthews and Mint Hill, and it’s represented by none other than Tricia Cotham. Cotham was elected to the solidly Democratic district in 2022 but shocked voters when she switched her party affiliation just a few months after taking office. Since she had little chance of winning reelection in such a blue district, she had to look elsewhere. Cotham now is running for re-election in House District 105, an oddly shaped district strategically drawn to give Republicans a slight edge. Matthews and Mint Hill are now part of that district, while east Charlotte remains in District 112.
The fact that many of his future constituents are voters who were personally impacted by Cotham’s decision isn’t lost on Lopez.
“A lot of people here in Mecklenburg County, especially her constituents, feel betrayed because of what she did. And I have heard directly from some of them that they don’t have faith in the system,” Lopez said. “How do you tell somebody to just get over that? You can’t. You have to earn that back.”
Lopez is part of a wave of young people who stepped up to run for office in 2024 and could bring a fresh perspective to a legislature in which the average age of a lawmaker is more than 50 years old. In Senate District 41, there are two candidates under the age of 30; over in Wilson County, a 27-year-old is running for House District 24.
In fact, when weighing his decision, one of the biggest reasons Lopez decided to run was the inspiration he might provide to other young people. He finds inspiration of his own in people like North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton, the youngest state party chair in the country, and U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress.
Still, his excitement has been tinged with a heavy dose of anxiety.
“It’s an incredible opportunity with a lot of potential behind it,” Lopez said. “But I’ve definitely had to get over the initial feeling of, ‘Am I enough? Am I old enough? Am I experienced enough?’”
When he takes office in January, he will likely be the youngest member of the General Assembly. Currently, the youngest member is Republican Rep. Jake Johnson, who is 29. That would also make him the only member of Gen Z serving in the legislature — for now, he says.
“What I think and what I hope is that in 2026, for example, we will see even more young people who decide to get involved,” Lopez said. “Because it’s time to start bringing new voices to Raleigh.”
