The Phil Berger era will soon be over. But his former staff aren’t going anywhere
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Berger’s former chiefs and aides hold roles in higher ed, courts, state finance, sports.
- UNC appointments and contracts reflect Berger-era networks and trustee influence.
- Berger’s future career will determine how much power his alumni retain.
Senate leader Phil Berger, widely regarded as the most powerful politician in North Carolina, conceded in an election he lost by just 23 votes, leaving a power vacuum in the Senate once his term ends at the end of the year.
Another thing Berger’s leaving behind? Influential former staffers in important rooms across North Carolina.
The Republican Senate leader’s former top staff and family members work across courts, professional sports, state finance and politics. That could mean Berger’s influence is far from over.
There’s one sector where Berger had perhaps the most outsized interest: higher education. His departure will be an inflection point for public colleges and universities. His acolytes, however, are very much still around.
Think Jim Blaine, former Berger chief of staff and current UNC-Chapel Hill trustee. Or Andrew Tripp, another former Berger chief of staff and current UNC System general counsel.
Elsewhere in state government, a former Berger deputy chief of staff now works for the treasurer. His former legal counsel now works for the state auditor’s office.
And Berger’s son is a state Supreme Court justice, elected in 2020.
Then there’s sports. Another former chief of staff, Brian Fork, was recently named CEO of the Carolina Hurricanes, Raleigh’s hockey team.
Having worked for Berger is a standout item on a resume in North Carolina, which is why so many of his top aides end up in high places, according to Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation, a North Carolina-based conservative think tank.
But how much influence Berger will continue to wield through these former staffers depends a lot on the next step in Berger’s career, Kokai said. If he goes into lobbying, which Kokai thinks he might, his influence might loom large. If he retires, political like-mindedness might be the only thing bridging Berger and his former staffers, Kokai said.
Higher education influence
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts was the recipient of a Berger endorsement in the months leading up to his promotion from interim to permanent chancellor.
“The UNC System is better off because of his leadership,” Roberts told The News & Observer while answering reporters’ questions Thursday. “... I think his name is going to be one of the great ones as it relates to higher education in North Carolina for a long time.”
Roberts singled out NC Promise, a Berger-backed initiative that reduced in-state tuition at four public universities to $500 per semester.
At a UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees committee meeting on Wednesday, UNC state affairs director Amy McConkey addressed the board about the sea change.
“We had a seismic day yesterday in North Carolina. The most powerful policymaker in the state conceded an election that he lost by 23 votes,” McConkey said. “... [This was a] tremendously unusual and unprecedented event. I think the theme of this meeting could be the unknown that’s before us.”
Before her was trustee Blaine — Berger’s former right-hand man.
Blaine served as Berger’s chief of staff from 2011 to 2018, and was highly influential in helping to shape and implement Berger’s political agenda — which turned out to be the dominant political agenda in the state. Back in 2018, former state Sen. Patrick Ballantine, who now serves alongside Blaine on the UNC board, told The N&O that Blaine is “one of the most powerful people in the state that no one’s ever heard of.”
Blaine left Berger’s staff to form The Differentiators, a political consulting firm that the UNC System hired to help it search for a new president. The UNC System paid the firm $800,000 total for its services, The N&O reported. Ultimately, sitting UNC System president Peter Hans was selected in the process.
Then, in 2020, the Senate appointed Blaine to the UNC-Chapel Hill board.
Kokai thinks Blaine is probably among the former Berger staffers who are most anxious about their future in the wake of the election results.
“The person who would have to look at the recent election result and raise the most questions about their future would be Jim Blaine and other folks who work in consulting, who have won clients because of their connection to Phil Berger,” Kokai said. “After having seen the electoral loss, and the loss of a person who could help guarantee getting them corporate contracts, they might be saying: ‘we need a new strategy.’”
Blaine’s successor in Berger’s office, Tripp, worked for Berger as his general counsel from 2013 to 2018, then as chief of staff from 2018 to 2020.
Tripp left Berger’s side to take his current job as general counsel for the UNC System. There, he’s overseen the legal strategy around hot-button issues: the end of affirmative action, the banning of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and the debut of name, image, and likeness rights in college sports.
Family ties, state affairs, and sports
Amy Auth served as deputy chief of staff for Berger during roughly the same timeline as Blaine: 2011 to 2018. She left to become the director of state affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill, a role she kept until 2021. Now, Auth works as the deputy treasurer for external affairs at the North Carolina State Treasurer’s office, where she advises Treasurer Brad Briner on his public relations strategy.
Berger’s former legal counsel, Brent Woodcox, is now chief of staff for state Auditor Dave Boliek, who is making waves with his attention-grabbing and expansive interpretation of the auditor’s mission.
The most recent person to leave the role of Berger’s chief of staff, Fork, is now the CEO of the Hurricanes, a job that will require oversight of the renovation of Lenovo Center, where the team plays. The arena is run by the Centennial Authority, whose board is made up of people appointed by state, county and city governments.
It isn’t just former staffers carrying the torch for Berger. It’s blood relations as well.
Phil Berger Jr. is a justice on the Supreme Court. In the past, he hasn’t recused himself from high-profile cases involving his father, The N&O reported.
“His job is dependent on the voters statewide,” Kokai said. “I think if he had to run for reelection only in Rockingham County, he might be worried about his future. But he’s running statewide. I doubt he’s looking at this result with anything more than sadness and disappointment for his dad.”
Berger’s other son, Kevin Berger, serves on the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners.
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 8:19 AM.
