On Friday, State Sen. Bob Steinburg is expected to announce he is resigning his seat in the N.C. General Assembly. He will officially resign at the end of the month, telling Carolina Journal that he plans a future career in legislative advocacy. State law requires a six-month “cooling-off” period before former legislators can begin active lobbying in the General Assembly.
Steinburg was recently defeated in a primary by fellow Republican Sen. Norm Sanderson after the two were forced into the same district in the new state Senate redistricting map.
“I’m proud of my time representing northeastern North Carolina, and I’m glad we’ve done some positive things to improve our corrections system,” Steinburg said. “I’m now excited to move forward in the next chapter, where I will continue to advocate for causes I care about, as well as northeastern North Carolina.”
Steinburg chairs the Senate Select Committee on Prison Safety and has been a key player in moving prison reforms through in recent years.
He tells Carolina Journal he expects the local Republican Party leadership to appoint current state Rep. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck, to finish out the rest of Steinburg’s Senate term. Hanig is currently the House majority whip and represents District 6. This fall he is running in the newly configured Senate District 3. It includes five counties that are part of Steinburg’s current Senate district.
Local Republicans would then decide how to fill Hanig’s House seat for the rest of his term.
Steinburg is in his fifth term serving in the state legislature and second term in the state Senate. He previously served three terms representing northeastern N.C. in the state House after first winning election in 2013. Steinburg was part of the Republican majority state legislature, which brought a new era of fiscal policy centering on lower taxes, less government regulation, and school choice.