RALEIGH — North Carolina state Rep. Kelly Hastings won’t seek reelection in 2026, announcing in a Facebook post that he is “term limiting” himself.
“As many of you know, I am a supporter of term limits,” Hastings wrote in the May 10 post. “And I signed pledges to support term limits for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate; these are full-time, government positions. Serving as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly is a part-time legislative position with low financial compensation.
“Considering this, eight terms in the General Assembly is about equivalent to four terms in the U.S. House. Eight years in the U.S. House is equivalent to four, two-year terms. Keeping this in mind, I plan to limit myself in the General Assembly to the equivalent of four, two-year terms, when compared to the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Hastings added that there “is no perfect answer when determining the time for term limits, in most cases, but this limit makes sense in my situation.”
“After reading meaningful passages, I know it is time to prepare to pass the torch and empower others to serve,” Hastings wrote. “I will not file to run for the North Carolina General Assembly for the upcoming election cycle, and I have no intentions to run for a North Carolina General Assembly seat in the future.”
The Gaston County Republican said he will continue to “vigorously” represent his district’s constituents through the end of his term and thanked his supporters.
A realtor for more than 25 years, Hastings was first elected to the North Carolina House in 2010 by just under 70% of the vote and began his first term in 2011. He currently represents District 110, which covers portions of Gaston and Cleveland counties.
During the 2025-26 session, Hastings is a chair of the Higher Education Committee and the Appropriations, Capital and Information Technology Committee. He also serves as vice chair on the House Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Select Committee on Hurricane Helene Recovery, as well as the Insurance and Energy and Utilities committees.
According to North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation’s (NCFREE) partisan district score ratings, Hastings’ district is considered a +30.8 Republican safe seat. Hastings was also named as one of NCFREE’s top 10 House members in its legislative business ratings for 2023-24.
House Rules Chair Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) told North State Journal he had spoken with Hastings and said Hastings knew it was time to move on.
“When it’s time and time, and he realized that it was time for him to step aside and to not run for reelection and maybe do something different,” said Bell.
“But you know you’ve got to look at the value of the work that Rep. Hastings did. He came in when Republicans took charge after the 2010 election. He was part of the group that brought tax reform to the state of North Carolina; the rates are reformed.”
Bell also mentioned the budget surpluses that occurred during Hastings’ tenure and the important committees he chaired.
“He’s had an outstanding legislative career, and I consider him a friend,” Bell said. “He’s just a class act, and I wish him the best of luck.”
