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DUNN, N.C.--On David Lewis' tobacco farm he says his family business is doing well, but he also says government regulations don't encourage growth.

“Government is like a giant octopus that has its arms and its tenticles stretched out into every single thing that we do,” said Lewis.

Lewis knows a thing or two about government, he currently sits in the North Carolina House, representing Harnett County.

He says there, and while serving as a Republican National Committee member in Tampa, he will be fighting to keep regulations for small businesses under control.

“As a farmer and as a business person, you want to take care of the people that work with you. You want to take care of the environment. You want to leave the world a better place than you found. We don't feel that the regulations that are out there are an incentive to do the things that are right,” said Rep. Lewis.

Lewis' message is one that is expected to be heard a lot about in Tampa, a platform plank that Republicans will look to make part of the conversation heading into November.

“They are going to be talking about issues like the economy and jobs and how to jump start small businesses, get people working again. This will be the biggest stage that they can do that and we are looking forward to it,” said GOP spokesman Rob Lockwood.

“Once we get job creation, the rest of it will take care of itself,” said Brad Howard, a Mooresville businessman and Republican delegate.

Howard said the message on the economy is what he's ready to hear. He owns a real estate business in Charlotte and said he believes the economy has to be the top issue this fall.

“I think its about the economy and I think its time we had a businessman run the country and run it like a business, cut the budget, stop increasing spending... come do some soul searching and everybody be honest with themselves," said Howard.

Republicans said there is plenty to address and debate in the coming months, but they also said until the economy is back on track, they want to keep the conversation concentrated on this issue.