I’ve written before about the thrill of general election campaign seasons, watching how things play out between party nominees as they battle for the hearts and minds of the voters they want to represent.
For political junkies, few things are quite like watching the debates that take place, the TV and forum appearances, the speeches given at local BBQ events, and anxiously awaiting the periodic polling results.
Better still is when you get the chance to make your voice heard — whether it’s by absentee ballot, early voting or on Election Day.
While hunkering down to watch election night results is probably the most exciting part of it all, few people have that same feeling when watching primary night results come in, particularly in races one wouldn’t think would turn into nail-biters.
And yet that is exactly what happened last Tuesday night as results came in for numerous races that saw incumbents lose their bid for reelection well before November.
In total, eight state legislative incumbents (with all but one serving in the N.C. House) will not be returning after this year, with five being Republicans and three being Democrats.
But there’s a possibility that a ninth incumbent will go down as well in one of the most shocking turns of events in modern North Carolina political history.
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page are locked in a tight battle for Senate District 26, which encompasses all of Rockingham County and parts of Guilford County.
Berger has been in the General Assembly since 2001. In 2011, he became state Senate leader. He’s been highly effective — instrumental in many GOP victories on issues like redistricting, crime, gun rights, ICE cooperation, increased higher ed oversight, pro-life and anti-trans causes, and neutering the power of the governor.
Page, an Air Force veteran, has been sheriff since 1998 and, in many ways, is the stereotypical aw-shucksy, tough-on-crime Southern sheriff on whose bad side you don’t want to get. He’s probably the one political figure in the district who is more well-known than Berger.
From the outset of the race, Berger seemingly knew it was going to be a challenge, with some reports claiming as much as $10 million, mostly from the Berger camp and groups that supported his reelection campaign, being spent.
Page, on the other hand, had some help from Democrats who want to see Berger gone, in addition to support from some grassroots Christian conservatives who weren’t fans of a Berger-backed push in 2023 for a casino in Rockingham County that never came to fruition.
President Donald Trump likes them both but endorsed Berger.
On primary night, the results in the district were a must-watch, and the longer the night went on, the more often N.C. political observers were hitting the refresh button on the election results page.
If memory serves me correctly, I don’t think Berger was ever in the lead, but the gap narrowed from a few thousand to a few hundred, and then … two.
By the time primary night unofficial results were in, Page had 13,077 votes, and Berger had 13,075.
As of this writing, with accepted provisionals included, Page is ahead by 23 votes, 13,136 to 13,113.
What’s left? According to Carolina Journal, “County boards of elections are scheduled to certify the results during the official canvass on March 13.”
“Before this occurs, any absentee ballots that need curing and any military and overseas ballots outstanding will also be added to the total, potentially moving the current number,” they also noted.
If the two still end up being within a percentage point of each other, a recount can be called for by the second-place candidate. Will there be legal wranglings beyond that, as we saw in the prolonged 2024 N.C. Supreme Court race?
We’ll find out soon enough.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
