By Scott Jenkins

Salisbury Post

Rep. Fred Steen faced no opposition in his re-election in the 76th N.C. House District. The Republican from Landis won’t be so lucky in his next bid, for House minority leader.

Steen and Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam of Wake County have offered themselves as candidates for the post being vacated by Rep. Joe Kiser of Lincoln County, who has held the job the past four years.

Steen said he has been “encouraged by a lot of my colleagues to run, and I’ve agreed to do that.”

Republicans lost five seats in the House this year and Democrats now hold a 68-52 majority.

“I think it’s time that our caucus and our party retool, refocus and rebuild, and that’s what we’re planning on doing,” Steen said Monday.

First appointed to the General Assembly in 2004 to serve out the remainder of the late Rep. Eugene McCombs’ last term, Steen won election that year and is about to begin his second full term.

Steen said he knows that makes him “kind of young and wet behind the ears” compared to many colleagues, but it also means he hasn’t been in Raleigh long enough to become embroiled in party feuds.

“I think folks see me as a person that has gotten along with different factions of the Republican Party in the House caucus and see me as a uniter and not a divider, and I appreciate that,” he said.

He is immune, for example, to rifts that developed in 2003 when the House was evenly split and former Rep. Richard Morgan cut a deal with Democrats to become co-speaker.

And he has company. The Republican caucus has welcomed 20 new members the last two elections and Steen hopes they can be “a springboard for us to move forward and be the progressive party we can be.”

He’s courting the more experienced legislators, too. Steen said he plans to speak with every member of the caucus before they vote on the next minority leader. He doesn’t expect a vote until late December or early January, though House and Senate Republicans will meet Sunday in Greensboro.

Steen said he and Stam, who he called a good friend, will address fellow Republicans at the meeting.

Steen said the minority leader’s primary roles are to make sure caucus members understand upcoming legislation and to help shepherd their bills through the chamber and get them heard on the House floor.

With an eye on 2008 elections and a 16-seat deficit in the House, Steen said, it will also include helping to recruit GOP candidates and focusing on issues that resonate with voters.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge, and I’m looking forward to working with all 51 other members of our caucus to make this thing work,” he said.

Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or sjenkins@salisburypost.com.