North Carolina's most powerful Republican may be toppled in stunning upset

The leader of the North Carolina Senate, Phil Berger, widely seen as one of the most powerful Republicans in the state, may have just lost a tough challenge from Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page in what would be a stunning upset Tuesday night.

Paige took the lead in the shocking election by just two votes, and the results are almost certainly going to be challenged in court.

Berger ran the most powerful office in the state and had Trump's endorsement, millions in backing, and the entire Republican establishment behind him. He has served as Senate president pro tempore since Republicans seized control of the legislature in 2011.

Meanwhile, Page raised just $45,000 through the end of 2025. He ran as an outsider in a year when the political establishment has become a liability. He ran on the message that Berger became too comfortable in Raleigh, too insulated from the people he was supposed to represent, and too much a creature of the donor class that bankrolled him.

Voters responded by throwing Berger out Tuesday night in a historic political collapse. The News and Observer noted the winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary in the right-leaning district would become the overwhelming favorite to win in November.

Editor's note: A previous version of this prematurely declared Paige the projected winner in the race. The race has not yet been projected.