Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is Andrew Pomeranz.
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger has requested a recount in the SD-28 Republican primary against challenger Sheriff Sam Page, after the race ended with one of the narrowest margins in recent North Carolina election history.
Page led Berger by 23 votes after Rockingham and Guilford counties completed their canvases and finalized provisional ballot counts, according to unofficial results released this week.
Jonathan Felts, spokesman for the Berger recount effort, said in a statement Tuesday:
"Today, Senator Berger contacted the NC State Board of Elections and formally requested a machine recount of the votes in SD-26. We will have no further statement today regarding the potential for requesting a hand recount. If we choose to formally lodge any complaint with the NCSBE before today's 5 p.m. deadline, we will announce that later today."
In response to the recount request, Sheriff Sam Page put out the following statement:
"We won this election because the voters of Guilford and Rockingham counties made their decision clear. Phil Berger has the right to request a recount, and I'm confident it will confirm the outcome. We won."
Under North Carolina law, a candidate may request a recount if the difference between candidates is 1% of the total votes cast or fewer. The margin in the Berger-Page race falls well within that threshold.
Candidates have a limited window to seek a recount. Berger had until March 17 at noon to file the request.
Berger submitted the request just before the deadline, triggering a recount by the Rockingham and Guilford County Boards of Elections.
Election officials in North Carolina recount ballots by running them through tabulation machines. If they find a significant discrepancy between the initial and recounted totals, they move to hand-recount the ballots.
Despite the tight margin, recounts rarely change election outcomes by more than a handful of votes.
"Berger has every right to ask for a recall. However, it is extremely unlikely that it will shift 23 or more votes in his favor," Andy Jackson, director of the John Locke Foundation's Civitas Center for Public Integrity, told the Carolina Journal.
"He will need to successfully challenge some of the election officials' decisions on accepting ballots to get the votes he needs."
If the recount confirms Page's lead, the political newcomer would defeat one of North Carolina's most powerful lawmakers. Berger has represented Rockingham County in the General Assembly since 2001 and has served as Senate president pro tempore since Republicans won control of the chamber in 2011.
Page has served as Rockingham County sheriff since 1998 and previously led the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association. He mounted an insurgent primary challenge against Berger earlier this year, arguing that the longtime legislative leader had grown out of step with some grassroots Republican voters.
Even if the recount does not change the outcome, Berger could still pursue further legal challenges over specific ballots. In close North Carolina elections, losing candidates have sometimes sought to invalidate or challenge ballots through election protests and court filings.
The Carolina Journal previously reported on the 2024 race for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat, where Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin challenged tens of thousands of ballots after a recount confirmed his loss to Democrat Allison Riggs by 734 votes. Months of litigation in state and federal courts followed before officials ultimately certified the election.
A similar strategy in the Berger-Page race could involve contesting the eligibility of certain ballots or arguing that election rules were not properly followed.
This maneuvering may have already begun as previously reported by the Carolina Journal. The recount campaign of Berger says several voters in SD-26 have reported that they believe that they may have received ballots that did not include the district's primary race, prompting the campaign's recount team to ask the Guilford County Board of Elections to investigate.
The Berger campaign has also criticized text messages sent by supporters of Page that they say falsely claim ballot issues could be a felony, arguing the messages could discourage voters from raising legitimate concerns about possible election errors.
In a press release Monday night in response, Page's post-election advisor, Patrick Sebastian, pushed back on the claims, stating that Berger's team contacted voters to inquire about complaints of alleged ballot errors and intimidation.
"In a desperate attempt to cling to power after being rejected by voters, Phil Berger is questioning the very election system he put in place," Sebastian said.
"Voters should never feel pressured by a defeated candidate to say something that isn't true."
Sebastian claimed the outreach is widespread and targeted.
"The Page campaign has learned from multiple sources that the Phil Berger campaign is contacting voters to ask whether they received the correct ballot, and whether they would publicly claim they received the wrong ballot when they voted - specifically a ballot that did not include Berger's name."
He added that one concerned voter reported the Berger campaign
"is calling thousands of people" in an effort to find individuals willing to say they received the wrong ballot.
Sebastian also raised questions about the scope of that outreach, stating that
"at least one of the people who contacted the Page campaign does not even live in Senate District 26."
In his statement, Sebastian defended Guilford County's election procedures, arguing there are safeguards in place to prevent voters from receiving the wrong ballot.
"After a voter checks in, their authorization to vote form identifies the ballot they are supposed to receive by a specific alphanumeric designation," Sebastian said.
"The person retrieving the ballot must align the ballot they retrieve with that alphanumeric designation. They then use a barcode scanner to scan both the voter's authorization to vote form and the ballot to confirm a match. If there is no match, the scanner alerts the poll worker."
He also said county officials have confirmed that ballot counts align.
"The county board has confirmed that the number of ballots that were supposed to have been issued in this contest at early voting sites matches the number of ballots that were cast in the contest," Sebastian said.
Sebastian further criticized Berger's outreach strategy, pointing to reported calls targeting voters in Jamestown.
"Phil Berger's campaign has been telling voters they are calling people in Jamestown to ensure they received the correct ballot for District 26. As the Berger campaign should know, the small town of Jamestown is split between three state Senate districts. Naturally, many voters in Jamestown did not see Phil Berger on their ballot because they do not live in the 26th Senate District."
The Guilford County Board of Elections has not announced whether it will open an investigation into the ballot complaints.
