Sam Page expands lead over Phil Berger in tight race for NC Senate
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page expanded his narrow lead over longtime Senate leader Phil Berger in the Republican primary on Friday after outstanding provisional ballots were counted in Guilford and Rockingham counties.
After election night, Page had led Berger in the Senate race by just two votes. Now, Page leads by 23 votes.
The race still isn’t over, though.
The margin between the two candidates is still less than 1%, meaning it could go to a recount after a certification of results on March 13 known as the county canvass.
Berger and Page could also file formal challenges against ballots they believe to have been cast by ineligible voters. The deadline to file those challenges is March 10.
“Our numbers continue to build,” Page told reporters in Reidsville. “I’m satisfied with the numbers we saw today, and I think that we’re at a point now that my opponent can’t catch up.”
In a statement released Friday evening, Berger said his team was considering asking for a recount.
“As we wait for the election results to be reviewed one week from today, our legal team will continue to evaluate the situation,” he said. “If we believe a recount is merited, I will pursue that avenue as allowed by law. A lot of folks have supported me throughout my time in public service, and I owe it to them to ensure clarity of the election results.”
Counties met to approve provisional votes
The updated vote totals came after bipartisan election boards met to approve provisional ballots in Guilford and Rockingham counties on Friday afternoon.
Provisional ballots are cast when there are questions about a voter’s eligibility. These ballots are researched by election officials in the days following an election to determine whether the voter was qualified to vote in the election.
In many cases, the county election boards can conduct the necessary research without involving the voter, but in some cases they may reach out to request additional information from affected voters.
Speaking before the provisional ballots were counted in Rockingham, Don Powell, the Republican chair of the Rockingham elections board, told reporters that only one provisional voter had to be contacted to cure their ballot in person.
The voter successfully did so, despite concerns over Rockingham’s election office being briefly closed on Wednesday.
“There has never been a time that I questioned the integrity of the Board of Elections in Rockingham County, and I still don’t,” Powell said.
Which ballots were approved and denied?
The Rockingham elections board approved 95 ballots and denied 42 ballots on Friday.
The board unanimously rejected 28 provisional ballots because the voter insisted on voting in the primary for a party they were not registered with. In North Carolina, registered Democrats must vote in the Democratic primary, and Republicans must vote in the Republican primary. Unaffiliated voters can choose to vote in either.
Paula Seamster, the board’s director, said several of the affected voters were registered Libertarians who wanted to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary since the Libertarian Party did not have a primary this year.
Board member Wally White, a Democrat, said he sympathized with voters put in that situation, but that the board had to follow the law.
“I understand the passion, especially when you’re associated with one party — but I hope that people will take this as a time to understand why it’s so important to double-check your registration ahead of time,” he said.
The Rockingham board rejected another 14 ballots from voters who were not registered in the county. Some were registered in neighboring areas and others had been automatically purged from the system after not voting in several consecutive federal elections.
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 6:07 PM.
