In early March, we wrote about a state senate GOP primary race here in North Carolina that had the potential to upend the power structure in the NC senate should the primary night election results hold.
The contest between longtime Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page for Senate District 26 saw Page shockingly ahead of Berger by two votes on primary night. By the March 13th canvass deadline, Page’s lead had increased to 23 votes after provisionals were reviewed, overseas and military ballots were counted, and absentee ballots that needed them were cured.
After a machine recount and random sample hand-to-eye recounts were done, the results remained unchanged. On Tuesday, Berger conceded that he had lost the primary, ensuring there would be no protracted legal fight as we saw in the hotly contested NC Supreme Court race in 2024:
“While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory,” Berger said in a statement.
“Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our state’s outlook and reputation,” said Berger. “It has been an honor to play a role in that transformation.
“Looking ahead, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in the short session to ensure North Carolina continues to be the best state in the nation in which to live, work, raise a family, and retire. In the months ahead, I will also do everything I can to support all Republican Senate candidates and protect our supermajority.”
Berger’s concession brings the total to nine NC General Assembly incumbents – three Democrats and six Republicans – who lost their reelection bids well before the general election.
As we noted before, Berger has been serving in the NC General Assembly since 2001. In 2011, he became State Senate leader and has been called the most powerful man in state politics. He has been instrumental in many GOP legislative victories on issues like redistricting (as recently as late 2025), crime, the Second Amendment, ICE cooperation, anti-DEI in public schools, increased oversight of higher education, pro-life and anti-trans causes, and neutering the power of the governor while increasing the power of the legislature – against the objections of our Democrat governors, of course.
He also had the support of President Donald Trump. But in a way, so did Page, with Trump unofficially endorsing Page in the same statement where he backed Berger. Page was an early supporter of Trump’s back in 2015, and it’s something Trump never forgot.
So, how was Page able to do it after years of Berger easily getting reelected and being such a shrewd and effective leader? It was probably a combination of having MAGA bona fides going way back, nearly 30 years of sheriffing, a budget stalemate between Berger and GOP NC House leaders, along with a controversial Berger-backed casino proposal in 2023 that perhaps had enough Republicans in the district believing it was time for a change.
It also should be noted that Page had some help from Democrats and their affiliated special interest groups, who hate Berger almost as much as they hate Trump, with some apparently even encouraging party members to cross over to vote for Page in the primary to oust Berger.
That said, I’ve likened Berger’s and Page’s staunch supporters to the Duke-Carolina college basketball rivalry: you can like one (Berger or Page), but you absolutely can’t like both.
In any event, what’s done is done. Though Berger’s legacy will live on in North Carolina politics for decades to come, it remains to be seen just how much his departure at the end of this year will change how business is done on the state senate side of things, not to mention what the possible national implications could be of losing a power player of his immense stature.
Update: I deliberately left my opinion on whether this was a good or bad thing out of this piece so that readers could draw their own conclusions, but if you’re interested, I shared more thoughts on it in the comments section.
Update 2: Since I’ve gotten several requests for it, here are my general thoughts (as posted in the comments) on whether what happened in this primary was good or bad:
I think if you wanted change, fresh blood, and believed Berger had become out of touch with his constituents, it’s good. But if you wanted a conservative power player who knew how to make things happen and who helped change the political landscape here for the better for Republicans, it’s not so good. Or think about it this way: This is the outcome Democrats in this state who want it to go the way of Virginia desperately wanted. That should tell you a lot.
Please join us in the comments and share your thoughts.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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