Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses Sen. Phil Berger’s concession in his primary election loss to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. Kokai offered these comments during the March 27, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”
Nick Craig of the Carolina Journal News Hour and the John Locke Foundation’s Mitch Kokai discuss Senate Leader Phil Berger’s election concession on March 24, 2026.
Berger asks NC elections board for hand recount in SD-26 race, trailing Sam Page by 23 votes, seeking full recount or review of over/undervotes.
Berger challenges 13 ballots in SD-26 race, citing incorrect ballots. He trails Sam Page by 23 votes and has requested a recount.
County boards of elections across NC certified March 3 primary results during Friday’s canvass. Page’s 23-vote lead over Berger in SD-26 remains.
In 1994, the SD-15 race pitted Democratic incumbent Elaine Marshall against Republican challenger Dan Page, no known relation to Sam Page in the current too-close-to-call state Senate race.
Sheriff Sam Page widens lead over Senate leader Phil Berger to 23 votes after provisional ballots counted in NC Senate District 26 GOP primary.
Being a swing state, unlike most other states in the union, major races really can come down to a small percentage of voters. This should spotlight the privilege we have of choosing our leaders through the voting process all the more.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections is undergoing a leadership change as scrutiny intensifies over Tuesday's razor-thin Republican primary contest between Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
Up to 189 provisional ballots remain in the razor-thin race between Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page, who leads by just two votes.
Jackson said the losses by Democratic mavericks suggested the party’s leadership had moved successfully to discipline members seen as straying from the caucus.
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