(The Center Square) – Sen. Phil Berger’s primary upset loss to Sheriff Sam Page has been certified by the State Board of Elections in North Carolina.
The panel on Wednesday morning also certified all other contests with exception of those involving the U.S. Senate, and for congressional districts 1, 3, 6, 10, 11 and 13 to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Those races are expected to be certified in April.
“Today, the state board ensured that the votes of more than 1.5 million North Carolinians who voted in the 2026 primary were counted,” said Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections. “We were extremely pleased with how this primary election was administered, and we appreciate the hard work and dedication of election officials and poll workers across the state who helped make this process an overwhelming success.”
With regard to the ongoing Registration Repair project, 16 voters were impacted in 10 counties. Their provisional ballots were not counted, and the respective boards were instructed to reverse and count them. No election race outcomes will change.
Turnout was 19.7%, or more than 1.5 million.
Berger, president pro tempore of the Senate, was seeking his 14th term. He was minority leader before Republicans gained majority in the historic 2010 midterms. Page, sheriff of Rockingham County since 1998, had sought the lieutenant governor post two years ago (fifth in primary). Both men are from the community of Eden.
Page prevailed 13,135-13,112. There were 13 ballots in four protests by Berger, opposition that went moot with the senator’s concession on Tuesday afternoon.
