County elections officials plan to finish counting ballots Friday in the primary election featuring one of North Carolina’s most powerful legislators, who trails his challenger by 23 votes.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page leads state Senate leader Phil Berger in the GOP primary for their Senate district, which covers Rockingham and Guilford counties. Page led by two votes after Election Day. The lead widened to 23 votes after provisional and some military and overseas ballots were counted last week.
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Ballot data indicates that Berger will still trail after Friday, provided ballots aren’t thrown out. But that likely won’t be the end of the race; a recount is expected.
County elections officials are required to hold what’s known as a canvass at 11 a.m. Friday to review election records for accuracy and to tally military and overseas ballots received in recent days. Officials are required by law to publicly hand-count a randomly-selected group of ballots to ensure they were accurately tabulated by machine. Officials at the meeting will also consider challenges to ballots, which can result in some votes being deemed ineligible.
The process is routine after every election, and it’s happening in all 100 counties statewide. But there’s heightened attention on Guilford and Rockingham counties because of the high stakes in the Berger-Page race.
If they’re separated by fewer than 1% of the votes cast, the trailing candidate can request a recount by 12 p.m. on March 17. Berger has said he and his legal team are exploring that option if he were to end up trailing Friday.
Recounts often lead to legal challenges. Berger and Page have already started legal funds.
"If we believe a recount is merited,” Berger said in a statement last week, “I will pursue that avenue as allowed by law. A lot of folks have supported me throughout my time in public service, and I owe it to them to ensure clarity of the election results.”
Meanwhile, Page is calling on Berger to concede.
“Phil Berger and his national allies tried and failed to buy this election with more than $10 million in shameful, false attacks against Sheriff Sam Page,” Patrick Sebastian, a post-election advisor for Page, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are prepared to stop any attempt by Phil Berger to disenfranchise his own constituents. It’s time for Phil Berger to concede the election he lost.”
On Thursday, county officials provided WRAL News with more specifics on military and overseas ballots, which are among the last counted. County and state officials said 17 military and overseas ballots were sent to people who could vote in the Senate race. Fourteen of them were Republican primary ballots, officials said. Some of those votes are already included in reported totals, officials said, meaning that any additional votes for Berger likely wouldn’t erase Page’s lead — assuming no ballots are challenged in the race at Friday’s canvass.
The race has attracted national attention because of the high stakes that could end the political career of the man who, for over a decade, has been one of most powerful people in North Carolina.
Berger helped Republicans take control of the legislature in the 2010 Tea Party wave and became Senate president pro tempore in 2011. As leader of the Senate, he has strong influence over which measures advance in the chamber. He has stayed in the leadership position through several governors and House speakers. Over the past 15 years, Berger has led Republican measures to cut taxes, slash regulations, and rewrite state policies to more align with the GOP’s agenda.
Berger’s legislative track record has helped him win 13 elections in a row by double-digit margins — and a few without any opposition.
President Donald Trump endorsed Berger in the race in December and urged Page — whom Trump has praised and considers a longtime supporter — to drop out of the race and instead work for his administration in Washington. When Trump called Page and offered the sheriff a job in Washington, D.C. if he would drop out of the race, Page said he declined because he believed he could be more effective for Rockingham County residents in the state Senate.
Page campaigned on the notion that the Senate leader has lost touch with the needs of his district. He gained the trust of many Triad voters even before running for state Senate, having served as the local sheriff for nearly 30 years. He helped lead Trump’s reelection campaign in North Carolina in 2020. And in 2024, he ran for lieutenant governor and placed fifth among the GOP primary field of 11 candidates, along the way carrying Rockingham and six other counties.
Berger cast Page as someone who can’t handle higher office, pointing allegations of mismanagement at the Rockingham County Detention Center, which is run by the sheriff’s office. Page has said his department has followed the law and implemented training and procedures to improve the center.