North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore will not run for Congress in 2022 — the first major fallout from U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn's decision to switch congressional districts.
Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincolnton Republican and chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, said Moore "will seek re-election as speaker," in a text message to The News & Observer on Thursday night.
Some key House Republicans were lining up behind their leader to keep his position, despite anticipation brewing for weeks that there could be a vacancy for speaker.
Moore asked Saine to support him for speaker, Saine said.
"I told him that he's my speaker and has done a good job. I haven't heard any announcement to the contrary and he continues to have my support as speaker," said Saine, who was with Moore at a fundraiser with other lawmakers on Thursday night.
"The Speaker is being encouraged to look at Congress, but a 5th term as Speaker has always been the most likely route," Rep. Destin Hall, the Rules Committee chairman and a Catawba County Republican, said in a text message to The News & Observer. "I expect him to stay in the state house. He will have the clear support of the House Republican caucus."
Moore told members of his caucus in individual phone calls this week that he will run for another term in the state House and asked for their support for speaker, a source close to Moore told The News & Observer on Thursday night.
Saine, Hall and House Majority Leader John Bell were among those interested in running for speaker if Moore didn't run again, Saine confirmed.
"We are interested but also support Tim — it's not the drama one would believe," he said. "I'm supporting Tim."
Saine said that Moore hasn't said whether his next term would be his last.
Moore has been speaker since 2015. He was widely expected to run for the U.S. House in the newly created 13th Congressional District, which includes his home county of Cleveland.
But Cawthorn, a first-term Republican who has quickly made a national name for himself, squashed those plans. Cawthorn announced Thursday night that he would run for reelection in the 13th Congressional District and not the 14th Congressional District, where he is the lone incumbent.
Cawthorn did not mention Moore by name, but he said he was worried about an "establishment" Republican prevailing in the 13th district if he did not run.
"Knowing the political realities of the 13th district, I am afraid that another establishment, go-along to get-along Republican would prevail there. I will not let that happen," Cawthorn said.
The congressional maps were approved by state lawmakers last week. The filing period for candidates to officially declare their intentions is in December.
Members of Congress do not have to live in their districts, so Moore could run elsewhere if he wanted.
The campaign news also comes a few days ahead of what might be the final resolution of the state budget this year. Already more than four months delayed, Moore, Senate leader Phil Berger and other Republicans have been negotiating a budget with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The Republican-led General Assembly is expected to reveal its conference budget and hold votes next week before sending the plan to the governor's desk.
