A Kinston Republican who had been seen as a rising star in the state legislature, before announcing he wouldn't seek reelection in 2024, resigned his seat Tuesday.
Sen. Jim Perry, R-Lenoir, was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Senate in 2019 and has since risen to become Senate majority whip — a top leadership position tasked with keeping the Republican caucus in line and voting as a bloc — as well as serving as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
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But he announced late last year that he wouldn't seek reelection, writing in a December statement: "Time is a precious commodity, and we are each only given a finite amount. I have worked hard to support the people of eastern NC during my three terms in the North Carolina Senate. I am entering a season of life where I will need more time to support those closest to me."
Perry's resignation Tuesday drops the Senate below the threshold needed for Republicans to guarantee a veto-proof supermajority.
However, the legislative session is now mostly over, with the final major actions all wrapping up this past week. Lawmakers could come back sporadically this summer and fall to consider veto overrides or for another attempt at writing a new state budget. Any veto overrides are unlikely to happen until a replacement for Perry is seated, though.
County-level GOP leadership in Lenoir, Craven and Beaufort counties will now be able to nominate someone to take his place, at least until the winner of this year's election is sworn in in January. State law says vacancies in the legislature are filled by the local political party or parties of the district in question.
Bob Brinson won the Republican Party primary to run for Perry's seat this November. He'll face Democratic candidate Charles Dudley.