Incoming North Carolina House Republicans in a meeting Monday formally backed Speaker Tim Moore to lead their chamber for another two years, a result of the GOP expanding their majority in the Nov. 3 election.
Moore, a Kings Mountain attorney, will be the nominee of the House Republican Caucus when the new General Assembly session convenes Jan. 13.
Since Republicans will hold 69 of the 120 seats, a four-seat increase compared with current margins, Moore’s reelection to the speaker’s dais is all but assured. Moore’s election as speaker would mean winning a record-tying fourth two-year term for the job. Rep. Liston Ramsey of Madison County was elected four times as speaker, serving from 1981 through 1988, as was Rep. Jim Black of Mecklenburg County, serving from 1999 through 2006.
The fact that “we actually expanded our numbers shows that we have a mandate to continue the legislative leadership that we’ve had,” Moore said at a news conference at state GOP headquarters, where returning House Republicans met and approved his nomination by acclamation. “We’ll continue to do all we can to to allow the ‘Old North State’ to be even greater.”
Moore, 50, joined the House in 2003 and became rules committee chairman under then-Speaker Thom Tillis. Moore succeeded Tillis in 2015 when Tillis moved to the U.S. Senate.
The incoming Republican caucus also said it would back Rep. Sarah Stevens of Surry County for reelection as speaker pro tempore, which is considered the chamber’s No. 2 post. For caucus positions, Republicans reelected Rep. John Bell of Wayne County as majority leader, Rep. Brenden Jones of Columbus County as deputy leader and Rep. Jon Hardister of Guilford County as majority whip.
Senate Republicans will meet Nov. 30 to choose their caucus leaders. Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County has said he planned to seek reelection to the chamber’s top job, one he’s held since 2011. Republicans will hold 28 of 50 state Senate seats in January, one fewer than the previous two years.
Among Democrats, current House Minority Leader Darren Jackson of Wake County confirmed last Friday that he wouldn’t seek reelection to that caucus position. Democrats entered the Nov. 3 election hopeful that they could take over the House and Senate chambers for the first time in 10 years, but they fell short in each chamber.
Photo via the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Related Stories
‹
Cooper Seeks Big Debt Package, Pay Hikes, Medicaid ExpansionWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday proposed a spending and borrowing spree by state government that he said is critical to fulfilling education, health care and infrastructure demands that were evident before the pandemic but have been exacerbated since. With state coffers filled with unspent funds and $5 billion […]
Financial Incentive for More Medicaid Draws Mixed ReactionA financial carrot for North Carolina to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands low-income adults is raising already elevated hopes among Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and allies that the General Assembly will finally adopt it this year. But those aspirations remain uncorroborated by GOP leaders who remain wary of expansion or don’t see it happening. […]
Handful of Races to Set North Carolina Legislature Rule, AgendaControl of the North Carolina General Assembly — which carries with it the leverage to shape current policies and draw district boundaries for the next decade — likely will come down to outcomes in about 15 closely contested House and Senate races. Democrats need to win six additional House seats and five more Senate seats […]
![]()
NC Virus Relief Aid Heads to Cooper as General Assembly EndsThe North Carolina legislature finalized a plan Thursday to spend $1.1 billion of the state’s remaining COVID-19 relief funds from Washington, including direct cash payments to nearly 2 million families. The package, which also provides a $50 uptick in weekly unemployment benefits and more funds for virus testing, tracing and personal protective equipment, cleared its […]
![]()
North Carolina Medicaid Expansion Advocates 'Mad' as Bill IdlesNorth Carolina remains among the dozen or so states that haven’t agreed to expand Medicaid to more of the working poor amid a lingering budget stalemate and continued skepticism among top Senate Republicans about the idea. The General Assembly met Tuesday for a session in which legislation related to health care access was among potential […]
Medicaid Expansion To Begin Soon in North Carolina as Governor Decides To Let Budget Bill Become LawWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday he would let the state budget bill coming to his desk become law without his signature, opening the way for Medicaid coverage for 600,000 low-income adults, with some receiving the government health insurance within weeks. The Democratic governor unveiled his decision on the two-year spending […]
N. Carolina Hospitals Offer New Medicaid Expansion ProposalWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON North Carolina’s hospitals and hospital systems on Friday unveiled an offer that could shake up stalled negotiations to pass legislation that would expand Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands of low-income adults in the state. The North Carolina Healthcare Association said the offer sent to Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper also […]
Medicaid Expansion Breakthrough Within Reach in N. CarolinaWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON After a decade of vigorous opposition, most North Carolina Republicans have now embraced the idea of expanding the state’s Medicaid program to cover hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults. Legislative approval finally appears within reach. During the General Assembly session that ended July 1, the GOP-controlled House and Senate passed separate, bipartisan measures […]
Bipartisan Health Care Panel Is Cooper's Pitch for ConsensusNorth Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was blocked from expanding Medicaid in his first term by Republicans in the legislature, and any repeated push could again face more stalemates with the GOP after the status quo election results of November. Now shifting to his second term, Cooper is unveiling a high-powered bipartisan blue ribbon commission […]
Moore Poised to Win Record-Tying Fourth Term as N.C. SpeakerIncoming North Carolina House Republicans in a meeting Monday formally backed Speaker Tim Moore to lead their chamber for another two years, a result of the GOP expanding their majority in the Nov. 3 election. Moore, a Kings Mountain attorney, will be the nominee of the House Republican Caucus when the new General Assembly session […]
›
