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RALEIGH — Rep. Laura Wiley said Friday she will not run for re-election to her High Point-based state House seat.

“It’s a desire, at this point, to be able to spend more time with my family here in North Carolina and in Tennessee,” Wiley said during a phone interview Friday. “Being a legislator, if you do it well, you must be willing to go at it 100 percent. I refuse to go at it any less than 100 percent, and right now I need the additional time with my family.”

Wiley’s term won’t expire until a new General Assembly is elected next year and takes its place in January of 2011. Wiley said she plans to serve out the rest of her term.

The General Assembly is typically in session for at least 11 months of a member’s two-year term. In between, there are frequent study committee meetings and other events that bring legislators to Raleigh.

Wiley is a former High Point City Council member who wrested the House District 61 seat from incumbent Steve Wood during a wild 2004 primary battle. Wiley bowed out of the race for a time but jumped back in a week before the primary.

During her time in Raleigh, Democrats have controlled the House and Senate. Despite that, she gained a reputation as a hard worker who is able to help move legislation, particularly bills related to special education and certain types of crime, such as stalking.

Doing so has required her to work with the Democratic majorities but that has not cost her esteem among fellow Republicans, who can sometimes be harsh to members seen as too liberal or too cooperative with the Democratic majority.

Civitas Action, a group with ties to the conservative Civitas Institute, ranked her as the House member with the 20th most-conservative voting record out of 120 members.

“I appreciate the good job she’s done representing the 61st District,” said Bill Wright, chairman of the Guilford County Republican Party. “She’s represented the values of the Republican Party very, very well in Raleigh.”

Voter registration in the district skews Republican, giving potential GOP candidates an edge in seeking the seat.

George Ragsdale, who ran against Wiley in 2008, says he won’t run for the seat. Since the last legislative election, he and his wife have welcomed a second child into their family. He did not rule out a future run.

Both Ragsdale and Wright said they knew of people interested in seeking the seat. Other candidates who ran in the past were not immediately available to comment Friday afternoon.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com