I'm very thankful that the people of Harnett County haven't let that – they haven't felt that my service is impaired just because sometimes my speech is." "I don't feel it particularly limits what I do. "I've taken speech therapy most of my life," Lewis told the WUNC Politics Podcast last year. He overcame a speech impediment, though a stutter often pops up when he speaks on the House floor. Lewis is affable and well liked at the legislature. "I will never be able to truly know how many times my assistance with homework was missed or how many ballgames, school award ceremonies, church events, family vacations and all the once-in-a-lifetime moments that I have forgone while serving in the House," he said. In his statement, Lewis said serving in the House came with "great personal sacrifice and loss of valuable time with my family, as well as my livelihood." At one point Lewis took a loan from a Republican donor who was later indicted and convicted in an unrelated federal bribery case. Lewis' family farm has struggled in recent years, facing liens from creditors. "You're there before people get there," Bell, R-Wayne, said. The long hours have weighed on Lewis for a while, according to House Majority Leader John Bell, who sits next to Lewis in the chamber.
House Rules is a way station of sorts for bills as they travel a byzantine path through the General Assembly.
"As such, I have decided to not seek re-election." “The time has come to focus my energies in new directions and to allow another capable leader to serve in this important role," Lewis said in a statement. The coming elections will decide who holds a majority in the General Assembly and thus who controls the next round of redistricting. Lewis, 49, also had a large hand in state voting laws that passed in recent years, including controversial redistricting plans and voter ID legislation that sparked multiple lawsuits over the last half decade. He spent 18 years in the House and rose to become one of the state's most powerful Republicans, chairing the House Rules Committee that holds sway over whether legislation lives or dies in Raleigh. David Lewis, R-Harnett, will be replaced on the November ballot by local party officials. A top leader in the state House announced Friday that he plans to retire at the end of this term instead of seeking re-election as planned.
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