The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) has turned over an investigation into missing campaign finance reports from candidates in Rockingham County to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
That includes nearly two decades worth of reports from Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
“Having conducted interviews with current and former Rockingham County Board of Elections officials, the State Board of Elections has reached the end of its investigation into missing Rockingham County campaign finance disclosure reports,” said NCSBE spokesman Pat Gannon in an emailed statement to Carolina Journal on Monday. “The State Board has now referred the matter to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for further review. The State Board will share the records of its investigation with the SBI and cooperate fully with its investigation.”
He said that, in the past, the NCSBE occasionally referred matters to the SBI for further investigation when warranted.
“Given that the primary issue in this case involves the retention of public records by a local government unit, the SBI is better suited to further review this matter,” Gannon added. “The State Board will have no further comment on this matter as it remains an open investigation.”
The missing reports came to light in June after an investigation by Charlotte TV station WBTV.
Page, who is challenging Senate Leader Phil Berger for his seat in the 2026 Republican primary, has been the sheriff in Rockingham County since 1998.
He also ran for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor in the 2024 primary election.
WBTV contacted the Rockingham County Board of Elections (BOE) to try to locate Page’s campaign finance reports before 2017, but was told those records couldn’t be located. They were also told that no current county board of elections employees worked at that office prior to June 2020.
According to state law, county boards of elections are required to retain campaign finance reports and other filings while the candidate holds public office. The county may then destroy those records three years after the candidate has left office and closed all their candidate committees.
However, candidates and treasurers are subject to records retention requirements that are different from those of county board offices.
Pursuant to G.S. § 163-278.35, a candidate committee treasurer is only required to retain reports, records, and accounts for two years from the date of the election to which such reports refer.
This means the treasurer for Page’s campaign committee was not required to retain the records at issue beyond November 2020.
NCSBE contacted Trevor Gardner, the current treasurer for Page’s campaign committee, as they are assisting the Rockingham County BOE in looking for the reports. They asked him if he had any further information regarding the records or any contact information for Page’s former campaign committee chairman, Ed Gunn, who would have served during the time in question.
Gardner replied in an emailed statement that said Page had consistently complied with filing requirements for the reports before July 1, 2017
He also said, “In his 27 years serving as Sheriff, his campaign finance reports were timely filed, a fact that has never been questioned by the State Board of Elections or any authority.”
In addition, Gardner said the campaign committee has fully complied with the requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-278.35, and that all disclosures prior to July 1, 2017, were filed in paper form.
“No audits or investigations have ever been initiated regarding Sheriff Page’s campaign finances, and the statutory two-year retention period for reports filed prior to July 1, 2017, has long since expired,” he said in the email. “It’s possible that paper copies of some pre-2017 reports may exist, but I cannot confirm that Sheriff Page, Mr. Gunn, or anyone else associated with the Sam Page Campaign for Sheriff has possession of these documents. Moreover, we understand that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-278.35 imposes no obligation to maintain or produce such records beyond the statutory period, which has elapsed.”