Pretty amusing stuff, even though it will go to a recount. Berger was the leader of the redistricting effort in North Carolina and is considered the most powerful Republican in the state. Former Governor Pat McCrory said of Berger, “It’s probably an example, even going back to a Mitch McConnell or some previous speakers, when you spend too much time in the State Capitol gaining power, sometimes people back home go, ‘You forgot us back home here in Rockingham County,’”
Source: Spectrum News
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page has a two-vote lead over North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger in the Republican primary for State Senate District 26.
The contest is headed for a recount.
Berger is arguably the most powerful politician in North Carolina state politics.
The Republican has spent decades in Raleigh in the General Assembly but faced a challenge back home from Rockingham County Sheriff Page, also a Republican.
While Berger has received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, he faced a formidable challenge, and this race has attracted a lot of money and attention.
There was a report recently that Republicans have dumped $10 million on Berger in an effort to keep him in office. His opponent raised around $50,000. A 200-1 advantage.
Republicans appear likely to spend more than $10 million to bolster state Senate leader Phil Berger’s intense reelection fight against Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, according to newly released fundraising reports.
Berger’s campaign and independent expenditure groups supporting him spent more than $8.6 million between the start of the primary election cycle in 2025 and February 14, the latest filings show. Combined, they still had $2 million more on hand as of mid-February, which political observers expect they will have spent by the March 3 primary.
An investment of this size for a legislative primary, which often draw roughly 20,000 voters, is unprecedented in North Carolina, political experts say.
Trump's endorsement.
