Rep. Jeff Jackson asked NC’s Tricia Cotham for refund because she ‘misrepresented herself’
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Rep. Jeff Jackson said Wednesday morning he requested a campaign donation refund from N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham after she “misrepresented herself” during the 2022 election.
“I took her at her word,” Jackson said about why he donated to her campaign. “That turned out to be a mistake.”
His campaign was among seven people or groups receiving refunds of their donations to Cotham’s campaign during the last six months.
Cotham made national headlines in April when she blindsided North Carolina Democratic voters, just months after being sworn into office, by switching political affiliations and becoming a Republican. Her change in party affiliations gave Republicans the super majority in the House.
It also allowed both chambers to quickly take up and pass conservative legislation that the governor would try to veto but the chambers’ supermajorities would overturn at each juncture. The bills included anti-LGBTQ legislation such as bans on gender-affirming care for minors and restricting participation in school sports. North Carolina Republicans also overrode a veto on a bill that bans women from abortions after 12 weeks in most instances.
In June, Cotham told McClatchy that she’s the same person, but that Democrats are capitalizing off her story as a means to make money.
When Cotham filed her mid-year campaign finance report this week, it revealed that her campaign made $8,350 in refunds to donors. She raised $27,410 since news broke of her party switch.
Jackson’s campaign received $1,000 after requesting his money be returned.
Cotham refunds campaign donations
The other returns included:
$5,600 to Karla Jurvetson, a doctor in Los Altos, California. The Mercury News in San Jose, California, reported in 2018 that Jurvetson had quickly became one of the most influential women in Democratic political fundraising. She gave $14.6 million during the 2020 election to a political action committee supporting U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who ran for president.
$1,250 to the Democratic Women of Mecklenburg.
$250 to Ann Newman, who is listed as unemployed and from Charlotte.
$100 to Christopher Coby, a teacher in Elizabeth City.
$100 to Mariah Morgan, the finance director for Val Hoyle for Congress.
$50 to Brad Anterton, a lawyer in Southport.
The Charlotte Observer contacted Cotham and her campaign’s treasurer, Savannah Russell, for comment but received a call back from the N.C. House Caucus Director Stephen Wiley instead.
Wiley said all of the refunds happened while Cotham’s former treasurer Jonathan Coby worked on the campaign. He resigned following Cotham’s flip. Wiley said the refunds occurred under a “disgruntled employee,” with Coby giving refunds to friends and relatives.
Coby contested Wiley’s statements, saying multiple donors told the committee they wanted contributions returned as soon as the news broke about the party switch on April 4. He said any requests made that day were processed per standard procedure.
He added that ActBlue donors can process refunds online at anytime, and the committee’s access to ActBlue and other Democratic fundraising tools were revoked quickly.
Cotham’s Democratic Party history
Cotham comes from a long line of Democrats that includes her mother, Pat Cotham, a member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners who served on the Democratic National Committee in 2010. Her father chaired Mecklenburg County’s Democratic Party.
Her now ex-husband had chaired the state Democratic Party. Her great-grandmother was a Missouri delegate and a Democrat who worked on former President Harry Truman’s campaign
She spent 10 years in the North Carolina House of Representatives as a Democrat beginning in 2007. She became known nationally for a floor speech she made in 2015 about an abortion she had — saying that it was a decision between herself, her husband, her doctors and God and no one else in the chamber.
She left the N.C. House in 2016 to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Alma Adams for Congress, but lost and went on to work as a lobbyist.
In 2022, she announced her return, running to represent the eastern tip of Mecklenburg County in the state House. She won with 59% of the vote.
In a news conference announcing Cotham’s switch, House Speaker Tim Moore celebrated Cotham as one of the most bipartisan members of the Democratic caucus prior to becoming a Republican.
Cotham said that it was bullying from within her own party that led to her switching parties.
