Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin) hasn’t been in the General Assembly very long — four years in the House, and now beginning his third year in the Senate — but he’s already amassed enough juice to snag some pivotal roles in the upcoming session, including as co-chair of the Senate’s Health Care committee and the Health and Human Services appropriations committee. 

“[Rockingham County Republican and Senate Leader Phil] Berger called me about a week ago and asked me if I would chair those two committees,” Corbin said. “I told him yes and he said, ‘Yeah, those two committees are going to handle Medicaid expansion and abortion.’”

Corbin was persuaded to run back in 2019 by then-Sen. Jim Davis and by Senate leadership. Part of the deal, he said at the time, is that his four years of seniority in the House would transfer over to the Senate. With Corbin’s high-level appointments, that promise appears to have been kept. 

The man who took Corbin’s House seat, Karl Gillespie, hasn’t been overlooked either. The Franklin Republican Gillespie has been appointed as one of six deputy majority whips, placing him amongst the most powerful Republicans in the House. 

Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) serves as majority whip but has already announced that he’ll run for Labor Commissioner in 2024, meaning it’s his last term in the House leadership position.