State-Level Politics and Elections

North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, the state’s top Republican legislator since 2011 and a key architect of its conservative turn, conceded his March 5 GOP primary on Tuesday after a second recount and partial hand recount left him trailing Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by 23 votes in Senate District 26. Unofficial totals show Page with 13,135 votes to Berger’s 13,112 in the Triad‑area district spanning parts of Guilford and Rockingham counties, a result that held through multiple recounts and election protests before Berger acknowledged defeat. Berger, who had been endorsed by President Donald Trump and heavily outspent Page, said in a written statement that “the voters have spoken,” pledged to stay on as Senate leader through the 2026 midterms, and vowed to help protect the GOP’s legislative supermajority before leaving office in January. Page, who pushed Berger to concede, thanked voters for their trust and urged Republicans to unite ahead of November, when he will face Democrat Steve Luking in the GOP‑leaning district that Berger carried in 2024. The upset ends a 15‑year run for one of the most powerful state‑level Republicans in the country and underscores how even entrenched incumbents with Trump’s backing can be toppled in closely watched primaries, a point already fueling debate among North Carolina activists online about party direction and grassroots anger at Raleigh’s establishment.