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Top Republican in the North Carolina Senate Phil Berger conceded his GOP primary race Tuesday after a second recount left him behind by a mere 23 votes, ending Berger’s long hold on the Triad-area seat and setting up a leadership shake-up in a key battleground state.
"While this was a close race, the voters have spoken, and I congratulate Sheriff Page on his victory," Berger wrote in a statement Tuesday after the results of the second recount confirmed Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page won the District 26 race.
"Over the past 15 years, Republicans in the General Assembly have fundamentally redefined our state's outlook and reputation. It has been an honor to play a role in that transformation."
Berger’s defeat is a major upset in North Carolina politics, particularly after President Donald Trump had endorsed him and fellow state Republicans had reportedly urged Page to end the primary challenge. Unofficial state election results showed Page with 13,135 to Berger's 13,112.
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Berger has led the Senate since 2011 and has been one of the state's most influential Republican figures, while Page's narrow win is expected to usher in a new era of GOP leadership in the General Assembly.
Page, who had pressed Berger to concede, said voters in Guilford and Rockingham counties had placed their trust in him and called for Republicans to unite ahead of the November general election. Berger will remain in office until January, presiding over the state Senate in one of the nation's biggest political battleground states.
"Looking ahead, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in the short session to ensure North Carolina continues to be the best state in the nation in which to live, work, raise a family, and retire," Berger's concession statement concluded. "In the months ahead, I will also do everything I can to support all Republican Senate candidates and protect our supermajority."
Trump's endorsement came several weeks after the legislature redrew the state's U.S. House district map in an attempt to flip a Democrat seat amid the ongoing fight to retain the narrow GOP House majority in this year's midterm elections.
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Unofficial results on primary election night showed Page leading Berger by just two votes out of more than 26,000 counted in the 26th Senate District that includes part of Greensboro and neighboring areas.
Page’s lead expanded as elections boards in the two counties within the district reviewed provisional, absentee and other ballots. Later recounts were conducted and Berger’s campaign filed formal protests. But Berger gave up after a hand recount of a small portion of the ballots Tuesday morning showed no change in Page’s razor-thin lead.
"I thank him for wishing me the best moving forward," Page said in a statement after Berger called him to concede. "Now it’s time for our community to come together and focus on winning in November."
Page will now advance to the November general election in the GOP-leaning district against Democrat Steve Luking, whom Berger defeated in 2024.
Page's campaign was outspent by Berger's campaign by more than 40-to-1 through mid-February, finance reports show. That does not include several million dollars that a pro-Berger independent expenditure group spent on mailers and advertising.
North Carolina state senators will pick a new chamber leader in early 2027.
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