Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page maintained his lead over Senate Leader Phil Berger after county canvasses Friday in the consequential state Senate District 26 primary.
Page led by 23 votes last week after provisional ballots were added to primary night totals. Page continued to lead Berger by 23 votes after elections boards in Rockingham and Guilford counties met Friday to certify their official tallies.
Berger has led the Senate since 2011 and is one of the most powerful politicians in the state. Page is the longtime Rockingham sheriff. The two broke publicly over Berger’s 2023 push for rural casinos, including one to be built in Rockingham. Page was a vocal opponent.
In the campaign, Page maintained that Berger lost touch with citizens, while Berger touted how much he had done for the district.
President Donald Trump endorsed Berger, and the senator and his supporters poured more than $10 million into the campaign, much of the money going to ads trying to drag down Page.
Because Senate District 26 includes more than one county, recounting the contest would be under the jurisdiction of the state Board of Elections. A request for a recount must be made in writing to the board by noon Tuesday. There is an opportunity for two recounts after the first one.
Protests concerning irregularities must be filed by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The winner of the primary will face Democrat Steve Luking in November, but the district leans heavily Republican.
In Rockingham County Friday, the elections board discussed three questionable ballots with an eye toward future candidate protests.
The board voted 4-1 to accept the ballot of a man who voted early but died a day before the March 3 primary. Official notice of his death did not reach the state in time for his ballot to be discounted.
The state Board of Elections lawyer recommended the Rockingham Board count the ballot, because there was not time for the voter or his family the opportunity to be heard, Rockingham elections director Paul Seamster told the board. The state Board of Elections could address the issue, she said.
Rockingham board Chairman Don Powell voted against counting the ballot.
“I think this is one they got wrong,” Powell said. “Things happen outside the prescription of the law.”
The final Rockingham count remained as it was last week, with Page winning 9,065 of the county’s votes and Berger 4,526.
Meanwhile, in Guilford County, seven ballots were pulled from the count: two early voters who died before March 3, two people still on probation for felonies, and three ballots that were accidentally put into tabulators by voters or county election workers. However, it’s unclear how many of those seven voters lived in Senate District 26, which covers only part of the county.
The final vote in Guilford was 8,587 for Berger,and 4,071 for Page.
Hence then, the article about no change page still leads berger by 23 in nc senate district 26 after final county tallies was published today ( ) and is available on NC news line ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( No change: Page still leads Berger by 23 in NC Senate District 26 after final county tallies )
Also on site :