Republicans choose Thom Tillis for Speaker of the House

Thom Tillis of Cornelius was recently chosen by Republicans to be the next Speaker of the North Carolina House. The nomination won't become official until the General Assembly reconvenes on January 26, when all members of the House will get to vote. But with Republicans having a 68-52 majority in the chamber, the nomination is a virtual lock.

There is no question that Thom is dedicated and focused on solving the problems that are facing North Carolina. As a matter of fact, Tillis left his job with IBM in 2009 to focus on the 2010 campaign season. He worked hard across the entire state to support numerous Republican House candidates, and put thousands of miles on his car in the process.

Tillis is a businessman who understands how economics are supposed to work. Even though he has only served two terms in the House, he has proven that he has the tenacity and character that it takes to be a leader. For these reasons, I am confident that Rep. Tillis will do an excellent job in serving as Speaker of the House.

Republicans also chose Paul "Skip" Stam of Apex to serve as the majority leader in the state House. Stam had also put his name in the running for Speaker of the House but didn't quite get enough votes for the nomination. From what I hear, the vote tally was fairly close.

Rep. Stam worked very hard throughout the 2010 campaign season to help Republicans gain the majority in the state House. In fact, Stam was one of the first elected officials that I contacted when I began thinking about running for public office. He was very encouraging and helpful in my efforts to launch my campaign for state House.

There is no question that "Skip" Stam is a dedicated public servant who has proven that he has leadership qualities. To that end, I'm confident that he will do a superb job in carrying out his role as the Republican majority leader in the state House.

As far as I'm concerned, selecting Thom Tillis to be speaker of the House and Paul Stam to be majority leader is a wise move. These two men have displayed a strong work ethic and a sincere commitment to conservative economic policies. I am confident that they will work hard and stay focused on solving the problems that we are facing in North Carolina.