Powerful North Carolina Senate Leader Concedes GOP Primary Race in Shocking Defeat – RedState
In early March, we talked about a GOP Senate primary race here in North Carolina that had the potential to shake up the power structure in the North Carolina Senate if the nighttime primary election results held up.
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 13 deadline, Page’s lead had grown to 23 votes after provisionals were revised, overseas and military ballots were counted and absentee ballots that required them were corrected.
After an automatic recount and random hand-to-hand recounts, the results remained unchanged. On Tuesday, Berger admitted he lost the primary, ensuring there would be no protracted legal battle like we saw in the hotly contested 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court race:
“Although the race was close, the voters spoke 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 the outlook and reputation of our state,” Berger said. “It was an honor to play a role in this transformation.
“Looking ahead, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in the short session to ensure that North Carolina continues to be the best state in the country 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.”
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Berger’s concession brings the total to nine NC General Assembly incumbents — three Democrats and six Republicans — who lost their re-election bids well before the general election.
As we noted previously, Berger has served in the NC General Assembly since 2001. In 2011, he became leader of the state Senate and was considered the most powerful man in state politics. He has been instrumental in many GOP legislative victories on issues including 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 neutralizing the power of the governor while increasing the power of the legislature – over the objections of our Democratic governors, of course.
He also had the support of President Donald Trump. But in a way, so did Page, with Trump unofficially supporting Page in the same statement where he supported Berger. Page was one of Trump’s first supporters in 2015, and that’s something Trump has never forgotten.
So how was Page able to achieve this after years of Berger winning re-election easily and being such an astute and effective leader? It was likely a combination of having MAGA good faith dating back to nearly 30 years as sheriff, a budget impasse between Berger and NC House GOP leaders, as well as a controversial Berger-backed casino proposal in 2023 that may have made enough Republicans in the district believe it was time for a change.
It’s also worth noting that Page has had help from Democrats and their affiliated interest groups, who hate Berger almost as much as they hate Trump, with some even apparently encouraging party members to vote for Page in the primary in order to oust Berger.
That said, I compared the ardent supporters of Berger and Page to the Duke-Carolina college basketball rivalry: you can like one (Berger or Page), but you definitely can’t like both.
Either way, what’s done is done. Although Berger’s legacy will live on in North Carolina politics for decades to come, it remains to be seen how much his departure at the end of this year will change the way business is conducted on the state Senate side, not to mention the possible national implications of losing a powerful player of his immense stature.
Editor’s note: The 2026 midterm elections will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both houses of Congress.
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