RALEIGH -- A lawmaker who first arrived in the North Carolina House when Republicans took control for the first time in more than a century will step down from the Senate the year the GOP made similar history in both chambers.

Sen. Debbie Clary of Cleveland County told The Shelby Star on Monday she'll leave her seat in November. Clary tells the paper she'll continue working in Raleigh as a lobbyist.

Clary was first elected to the House in 1994 and served for seven terms, becoming co-chairwoman of the budget-writing panel in 2003.

She successfully ran for the Senate in 2008. She's led the Senate government watchdog committee this year as the full Legislature switched to Republican hands.

Local Republican activists will decide who will fill out her two-year term.

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Information from: The Shelby Star, http://www.shelbystar.com

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