The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)
Primary elections occasionally lead to a defeat or two in the North Carolina Legislature. But the 2026 primary turned out eight incumbents, one of them the longtime leader of a chamber, and others who appear to have been targeted by their own party leadership.
Political observers say that’s likely to lead to unprecedented levels of intraparty and intra-caucus friction during the upcoming short session.
Seismic shift at the top of the NC Senate
The primary’s most notable — and most consequential — upset was that of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, who narrowly lost to his rival, longtime Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page. That result has yet to be finalized, but Berger conceded March 24 after two recounts did not change the 23-vote margin.
Berger (R-Rockingham), arguably the state’s most powerful politician after 15 years in control of the state Senate, blocked the passage of a state budget in 2025 over disagreements with state House leadership, especially about whether to delay previously approved income tax cuts.
The tax cuts, approved years ago, are set to take effect if state revenue reaches certain levels. But House Republicans and Democratic Governor Josh Stein say the revenue triggers did not anticipate the rapid inflation of recent years, which has required big increases in state spending.
Allowing the upcoming tax cuts to take effect, Stein and Hall have said, would cause a budget deficit in the near future. Berger has countered that postponing the tax cut would amount to a de facto tax increase, an argument Stein and House leaders have dismissed.
The stalemate has left state employees and teachers without raises, schools unable to plan budgets, and the state’s Medicaid program short of the funding it will need to finish the fiscal year.
Will Berger’s primary loss make him more willing to compromise on a budget deal? Or will Senate Republicans who want a deal make one without him?
Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer says it’s difficult to predict, because in living memory, no sitting chamber leader has ever lost a primary.
“That’s a whole new ball game on Jones Street, and I don’t know what happens in that particular dynamic,” Bitzer said.
Bitzer predicts House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) will see it as leverage: “The power structure has been weakened in the Senate, and this is their opportunity to press things even further that they want.”
The NC House’s ‘Override Dems’
Three Democratic lawmakers who voted with Republicans in the past few years to override Democratic governors’ vetoes all lost their seats March 3. Reps. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg), Nasif Majeed (D-Mecklenburg) and Shelly Willingham (D-Edgecombe) were all handily bested by challengers who were backed by Democratic party leaders.
“Voters spoke loud and clear: They want to turn Governor Stein’s veto pen into a permanent marker,” state Democratic Chair Anderson Clayton said. “In 2027, our Democratic firewall will be stronger, better able to support working families, strengthen public schools, and lower costs from a Republican majority that has repeatedly prioritized ideology over the people it serves.”
The ousted Dems have said they cut deals with the Republican majority to win projects and funding for their districts, arguing that that’s what their voters sent them to Raleigh to do. But Democratic strategist Thomas Mills defended Democratic leaders’ decision to target them in primaries.
“When you’re in the majority, you’ve got tons of ways to punish your members if they don’t stay in line,” Mills said. “When you’re in the minority, you really don’t have much leverage to discipline your members.”
Mills said the ousted Democrats overstepped a line when they helped Republicans override the governor’s vetoes. Their side deals with GOP leaders, Mills said, left the rest of their caucus and the governor with little bargaining power on the budget or other Democratic priorities.
“There’s a balance that you have to meet,” Mills told NC Newsline. “If you’re going to throw all your fellow Democrats under the bus, there’s a price to pay. And this is the price.”
State House Republican upsets
Republican lawmakers from all across the state were also unexpectedly upset on primary night.
Rep. Keith Kidwell, a Beaufort County Republican and member of House leadership, lost his seat to a rival who was backed by another member of House leadership, longtime Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Sampson). Kidwell and Dixon had clashed over a pesticide provision in the 2025 Farm Bill and efforts to ban shrimp trawling in the sound.
Political newcomer Caroline Eason beat longtime Rep. Kelly Hastings (R-Gaston). Cabarrus County Rep. Chris Measmer lost his seat to former Rep. Kevin Crutchfield. And Haywood County Rep. Mark Pless, who often crossed swords with elected leaders in his district, was ousted by one of them, longtime Haywood County school board member Jimmy Rogers.
Bitzer said the large number of lawmakers defeated by their own parties could lead to “one of the more odd coalitions” in the Legislature, especially when it comes to budget deals or the several vetoed bills that have not yet been overridden by Republican lawmakers in the House.
“Do they want to exercise retribution, or do they just not show up?” Bitzer mused. “Or cut deals in odd ways that we can’t imagine?”
The 2026 legislative short session is scheduled to begin April 20. Bitzer predicts this year, it’ll actually live up to its name.
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