Senator Phil Berger needed two ballots out of 1,340 cast in the March 3 primary election to sway in his favor during a Tuesday recount.
He didn’t get them.
That means that the effort did not trigger a full hand recount of every ballot in the Senate District 26 Republican primary. Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, who was challenging Berger, led by 23 votes after absentee ballots and mail-in votes were counted.
And hours later, Berger conceded. Berger has led Senate Republicans since 2005 and has been the caucus’ only leader since it took the chamber in 2011.
“While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory. Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our state’s outlook and reputation. It has been an honor to play a role in that transformation,” Berger wrote in a statement.
The initial 23-vote margin was certified by the Guilford and Rockingham county boards of elections, held up through a machine recount of every ballot in the race and has now withstood the partial hand recount.
“Every vote counts, and we saw that,” Page told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Page is a seven-term sheriff of Rockingham County who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in 2024.
Page told reporters that Berger called him Tuesday around 4 p.m. to concede the election. Page said he was surprised at the timing of the call and that he thanked Berger for his service.
“I was concerned about, you know, pretty much how long we were going to be going with this process. But when he called me, I didn’t expect it today, but I am appreciate and I thanked him for doing so,” Page said.
Page said Berger had been “a gentleman” and was “very cordial” during the call.
Page overcame GOP power players
Berger had powerful backing, from lawmakers, lobbyists and even President Donald Trump.
Trump endorsed Berger in December, choosing to back the Senate leader instead of Page, who had closely aligned himself with Trump’s efforts in the state for more than a decade. In 2016, Page helped found the Sheriffs for Trump organization, and he chaired Trump’s North Carolina campaign in 2020.
In his message endorsing Berger, Trump made clear that he also still liked Page, going as far as publicly disclosing that he’d offered Page the opportunity to take a job in the Trump Administration if he would give up the race.
Trump wrote that Berger is “an America First Patriot” and rattled off policy wins around energy, tax cuts and school choice, among others. Then, he wrote, “Sam Page is GREAT.”
Berger, a high-powered Republican fundraiser, vastly outspent Page in the election, tapping into money from corporate leaders both in the state and nationally.
Ultimately, Berger’s campaign spent at least $2.4 million in the race, while outside pro-Berger groups spent at least $6.7 million more. By comparison, Page raised about $81,000 while outside groups supporting him spent about $800,000 more.
“It’s not all about the money raised. It’s about the relationship and the trust that you build in your community,” Page said.
There were four outstanding elections protests filed by Berger that were scheduled to be heard later this week in Rockingham County and on April 6 in Guilford County.
Still, those protests added up to impacting 13 potential ballots, not enough to sway the result of the primary election.
Page said that during his call with Berger on Tuesday, Berger had said he would drop those protests.
Berger’s legacy
Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper noted in a social media post that Berger is the only Republican any living North Carolinian has seen lead the state Senate.
Sen. Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston, wrote in a post of his own that North Carolina is significantly better off now than it was at the beginning of Berger’s time leading the Senate.
“Sen. Berger has been one of the most impactful leaders in North Carolina history. He’s played a major part in every conservative victory over the last 16+ years. He’s been a friend and mentor to many,” Sawrey wrote.
Berger’s stint as Senate pro tempore has seen the General Assembly systematically shift power away from the state’s governors, significant cuts to the state’s corporate and income taxes and roll backs to the state’s environmental laws. It has also seen legislative Republicans lock in electoral maps that give members of their party a significant advantage in Congressional, State House and State Senate races.
But in recent years, Berger has sometimes spent significant political capital on projects that just haven’t gained lasting support. There’s the proposed UNC Health-Duke Health children’s hospital that received $217 million in the last biennium but no longer has support among House Republicans. There’s continued financial support for NCInnovation, an effort to commercialize research from UNC system researchers.
And most notably, there’s the 2023 legislative effort to bring four additional casinos to North Carolina, including one in Berger’s home Rockingham County.
Many residents in the county felt blindsided by the proposal and did not want gaming to come to their community.
Berger’s push for the project, which he ultimately was forced to abandon, gave Page a jumping off point for a campaign that argued throughout that Berger had lost touch with the voters back home.
Page brought the proposal up Tuesday afternoon, saying he was concerned that the General Assembly could have again raised the casino issue.
“I think that our citizens still have not gotten over the issues about gambling expansion, gaming, casinos, stuff like that,” Page said.
With Berger conceding, reactions flooded in from across the political spectrum on Tuesday.
Speaker of the House Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, praised Berger, calling him “a true titan of conservative leadership” in a statement.
“For more than two decades, Senator Berger has been a stalwart champion of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and the values that have made North Carolina a beacon for families and businesses,” Hall wrote, pledging that Berger’s actions will shape North Carolina for decades.
Democrats have a decidedly different view on Berger’s time in power.
Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, wrote in a statement that Berger’s loss is indicative of a weakened grip on power by legislative Republicans.
“For decades, Senator Berger has put power, politics, and special interests ahead of the people he was elected to serve. The voters who know him best made their decision 21 days ago, and after weeks of dragging this process out and wasting taxpayer resources, Berger is finally accepting reality,” Batch wrote in a statement.
Batch vowed that Democrats will work this fall to break a supermajority that Berger’s Republicans hold in the state Senate.
Berger looked ahead in his own statement, with the legislative short session set to begin on April 21.
“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 wrote.
Page will face Steve Luking, a Democrat, in November’s general election.
