No Kings, North Carolina style.
With so much going on at the national level, it can be hard to muddle through the noise to pay attention to state politics. But the Republican primary contest between North Carolina State Senate President Phil Berger and his challenger, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, has much to commend it for drama and local color, as well as real political consequence. You may find yourself cheering for Page, despite the fact that he is dyed-in-the-wool MAGA.1 It seems that despite his love affair with one tyrant, he may be about to topple a different one.
Phil Berger has lorded it over the state’s political landscape since he was first elected in 2011. He engineered the Republican takeover of the legislature and the court system, and he has has pushed through extreme political gerrymandering to make the takeover stick. Nothing makes it through the North Carolina legislature without his approval. Almost every political move of his party is now ok’d by his hand-picked Republican judges. He even got his son Philip, Jr., elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court. And of course, he’s been repeatedly reelected by a safely gerrymandered, Republican State Senate district.
But as so often happens, tyrants overreach, and now it looks like the Berger King may be dethroned by Sam Page, a fellow Republican.2 Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy more deserving political hack.
Page is the long-time Rockingham County Sheriff; he has strong local support in his county, and his roots run deep there, but he has no statewide status to compare with Berger’s. Despite the David and Goliath mismatch, it was thought well before Page filed to run in the primary that he could disrupt Berger’s reelection.
Following a hard-fought campaign, Page was up two votes over Berger on election night, and up 23 votes after provisional votes were counted on the following Friday. That’s where it stands at the moment, as military and overseas mail-in ballots will be counted through March 12.
Why should Democrats care if one Republican or another is elected to the NC Senate? Page, as noted, is all-in MAGA.3 The Rockingham County jail over which Page has authority has an appalling record with respect to inmate deaths.4 Politically, he’s not an improvement over Berger.
The key fact is that Berger’s departure from the legislature will create a power vacuum that Page will not be able to fill as a freshman senator. Indeed, he may have trouble finding somebody to have lunch with on legislative days. There is no obvious heir in the incumbent Republican lineup, which may break the Republicans’ stride in the legislature for a while. And if the Democrats can gain a few state legislative seats in the upcoming midterms as the Republicans fear, the resulting political shakeup may leave some room for more liberal policies in North Carolina.
But Page still has to win and he’s not quite there. The close result leaves a lot of room for Republican political f**kery; indeed, the game started before Page filed to run.
Last year, the Rockingham Board of Elections instigated an investigation of Page’s 2017 campaign finance reports that is now in the hands of the State Bureau of Investigation and the Rockingham District Attorney’s Office. There’s nothing to see here, I’m sure, why are you thinking that there is?
When the prospect of a campaign finance investigation didn’t deter Page, the Republican Senate Majority Whip Amy Galey made a desperate last-minute visit to Page’s home on the evening of primary filing day , urging him not to file.5 Page told the press: “She should be ashamed of herself. Don’t come to my house uninvited at night.”
Here’s a point not to miss: Galey telling Page that protecting Berger’s legislative seat would impair the Republican Party’s finances:
“Because of the money that Phil will spend, there will not be enough money left over to keep the supermajority.”
The North Carolina Republican Party crying poor is a sight to behold. The folks who have been impoverished by their fiscal policies will surely relate.
Berger has cards to play post election. Berger’s extensive network of political cronies include Republican majorities on the State Board of Elections and every county election board. State Auditor Dave Boliek who oversees the State Elections Board campaigned for Berger, and Page has asked him to step down from overseeing this political race.6 So far, Boliek has refused.
And if an almost certain recount doesn’t yield a result in Berger’s favor, election litigation may yet ensue. Post-election lawfare is a game at which the Republicans excel.
Did I mention that Phil Berger’s son Philip Berger, Jr., is a judge on the NC Supreme Court?
Just sayin’.7
You can stop the story here, and read this as a welcome sign that it may be possible to bring down a King, and leave it at that. But if you’re in for a deeper dive, keep reading. There’s a lesson here in how all politics are local. That’s why Page was able to get Phil Berger on the ropes in the first place.
In the last decade, North Carolina has been a target of extensive lobbying by national gambling interests that have harnessed Phil Berger’s political power for their benefit. With his indispensable assistance, the state approved online sports gambling in 2024. Berger also pushed hard in an effort to get approval for the opening of bricks and mortar casinos in several rural counties, including Rockingham.
Berger’s safely Republican legislative district consists of Guilford County, Berger’s home county, and Rockingham County. In 2023, in anticipation of legislative approval of casinos, the Rockingham County Commissioners approved the rezoning of a large tract of land in the county to permit the construction of a casino.
Did I mention that one of the Rockingham County commissioners who approved the rezoning for a casino is Kevin Berger, the other son of Phil Berger?
The rezoning passed despite significant grass roots opposition in Rockingham County.8 But alas, after the rezoning was pushed through, Phil Berger’s effort to get state legislative approval of bricks and mortar casinos failed. It was a rare loss for the Berger King.9
In filing for reelection in 2026, Berger was no doubt hoping that support in his home county of Guilford would be enough to insulate him from any political consequences from the casino opposition in Rockingham County. But the people of Rockingham have not forgotten the role that both Bergers played in the effort to force a casino down their throats. Sam Page saw an opening, and gambled (you will forgive me) that his base of support as the Sheriff of Rockingham County since 1998 could balance out a politically weakened Berger’s home court advantage in Guilford County.10
Did I mention that pro-Berger forces have spent $8 million and counting on the primary?
Amy Galey wasn’t kidding when she said that the Berger/Page contest would be costly. The Berger King and his allies poured over $8 million into his reelection effort as of March 2026, and they are likely to report a total of $10 million by the time everything’s done.11 Page, on the other hand, reported receiving campaign contributions of $81,000 as of March. Page fashioned the disparity into a political Red Badge of Courage:
“When you’ve got outside-backed money spending $10 million on a candidate, it makes you wonder what the obligations are to them,” Page said in an interview. “I’m obligated to the voters. We’re going to win this race not on money raised; we’re going to win it on relationships and accessibility that I’ve had with the citizens.”12
Did I mention that the Berger King was endorsed by POTUS 47?
Yup. Last year, POTUS endorsed Berger and tried to buy off Page by inviting him to come to D.C. to join the administration. Despite his MAGA credentials, Page said no thank you.13 He gets our Standing Up designation just for that. Page should be an inspiration to other candidates that they can stand up to POTUS and still win.
So here’s to you, Sheriff Sam Page! May the odds be ever in your favor!
1 His stance against casinos is a strong point in his favor, in my view. See discussion below on the casino controversy in Rockingham County.
2 https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/sheriff-sam-page-increases-lead-over-phil-berger-in-race-for-nc-senate/
3 Check out Sheriff Page’s campaign page: https://www.sampagenc.com/ There are a few positive elements in Page’s platform that could gain bipartisan support: “Supports repealing the legislative public records exemption Phil Berger passed so lawmakers aren’t shielded from public scrutiny.“
4 https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/sam-page-phil-berger-rockingham-county-nc-senate/
5 https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/gop-legislator-urges-sheriff-not-to-challenge-nc-senate-leader-dec-2025/
6 https://ncnewsline.com/2026/03/04/berger-challenger-sam-page-asks-state-elections-overseer-to-recuse-himself-as-ballot-count-goes-on/
7 By the way, Phil Junior has thus far refused to recuse himself in political cases in which his father has a political interest. https://ncnewsline.com/2024/08/29/democrats-renew-calls-for-supreme-court-justice-to-recuse-himself-from-cases-involving-his-father/ So much for the appearance of impropriety, Your Honor.
8 https://www.wral.com/story/state-budget-deal-won-t-include-casinos-video-lottery-terminals-lawmakers-say/21055682/ A case related to the casino controversy is still pending in the courts; it has been stalled in the North Carolina Supreme Court with no action since August 2025, effectively delaying the commencement of what may be a revealing discovery process. https://www.ncspin.com/lawsuit-threatens-to-reveal-secret-maneuvering-to-bring-casinos-to-north-carolina Did I mention that Phil Berger’s son Philip Berger, Jr., is a judge on the NC Supreme Court?
9 https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2023/08/15/casino-rockingham-county
10 It also appears that Page’s opposition to casinos is principled; he regards them as predatory. See this deep dive into Page’s decision to run: https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/phil-berger-sam-page-election-immigration/
11 See https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/elections/republicans-spending-berger-page/ and https://ncnewsline.com/2026/02/17/analysis-unmasking-the-mystery-money-in-the-phil-berger-vs-sam-page-contest/
12 https://www.theassemblync.com/news/politics/elections/republicans-spending-berger-page/
13 https://ncnewsline.com/2025/12/11/trump-endorses-phil-berger-as-sam-page-continues-primary-challenge-despite-presidents-request/
Citizens Resisting Tyranny 