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After Recounts, State Board Certifies Sam Page as GOP Nominee as NC Senate Leader Phil Berger Concedes

A 23-vote margin after layered recounts triggers a GOP leadership reset.

Phil Berger, candidate for North Carolina State Senate, campaigns at Douglass Elementary in Eden, N.C., on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
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N.C. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, speaks at the Rocky Mount Events Center in Rocky Mount, N.C., Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.
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Overview

  • North Carolina’s State Board of Elections, which certified the race Wednesday, recorded Sam Page’s win at 13,135 to 13,112 over Phil Berger after the canvass, a full machine recount, and a sample hand count.
  • Berger conceded Tuesday after the hand-to-eye sample recount showed no change, and he withdrew protests over 13 ballots, which cleared the way for certification.
  • Under state law, the sample recount hand-counted about 1,340 ballots from three randomly selected precincts and would have required Berger to net two votes to trigger a districtwide hand count.
  • Page advances to a November general election in a Republican-leaning district, while Berger remains Senate leader through the end of his term as Republicans prepare for a succession fight.
  • The upset followed a stark spending gap and a Trump endorsement for Berger, yet local backlash to a failed casino push and Page’s long tenure as sheriff helped power the narrow win.