New ad gives voters something to think about in Berger-Page GOP duel
Absentee voting for the March primaries got started on January 8. In-person early voting begins on February 12. Some might say there is not a whole lot more that primary campaigners can do besides focus on getting their voters out.
Arguably, one of the state’s most-watched primary elections is the GOP primary for state senate district 26 between incumbent senator Phil Berger and Rockingham County sheriff Sam Page. A group calling itself the Guilford-Rockingham Alliance has released an ad — airing on TV stations in the district and on various online platforms — that highlights some concerns about Phil Berger the group believes district 26 voters need to know.
Here’s an excerpt from a statement released by the Guilford-Rockingham Alliance:
[…]. Titled “Practically a Democrat,” the ad details Berger’s close cooperation with Democratic Governor Roy Cooper to repeal bathroom and locker-room protections for women and girls, his failure to stand up and block prisoners from being offered taxpayer-funded sex-change surgeries, and his vote to weaken immigration enforcement by extending the E-Verify compliance deadline from 90 days to nine months.
The ad shows Berger’s record is fundamentally at odds with the values of conservative voters and raises serious questions about whether he still represents the Republican Party he claims to lead.
Not only did Berger repeal HB2 at Roy Cooper’s behest, he later blocked a similar bill from even receiving a vote in the Senate in 2025. A 2025 poll conducted by Meredith College found 84 percent of Republicans supported passing a new HB2-style law. Berger also blocked legislation that would have banned drag shows in front of children.
Berger’s decision to weaken immigration enforcement in North Carolina has contributed to the explosion of illegal immigration in the state. The Carolina Journal reported 488,000 illegal immigrants were estimated to be living in North Carolina as of 2023. Notably, in 2013, Sheriff Sam Page urged Berger to halt his weakening of the employment verification system.
Berger also endorsed a Democratic judicial candidate over the Republican nominee, which led to a charge of “party disloyalty” by the Republican Party at the county and congressional level. […]
Also worthy of mention is the Senator’s abrupt about face regarding expanded Medicaid spending. After explaining for years why it was a bad idea, he suddenly pushed for its approval, which came in 2023. His supporters were flabbergasted and made to look silly. Now the state is facing the consequences — a far larger number of clients than estimated (all now in the Democrat Party’s pocket) and more pressure on budgets from Raleigh to Washington DC. Nice work, Senator!
Mr. Berger has never admitted to bad judgment or to misreading the wishes of his political base when he pushed for a casino in Rockingham County and alienated a core constituency.
Then there is the obscene amount of PAC money he brought in for his son’s reelection to the Rockingham Board of Commissioners (2024) in a ruthless effort at dynasty building during which his son’s opponents were subjected to an avalanche of smear mailings, just as is happening now in the primary. His nasty political bullying just barely succeeded then (by three votes in a recount!) and it is not going to work at all this time. And when has the Senator treated a Democrat opponent so viciously?
Berger gave up representing conservative principles and the folks back home in favor of operating the Beger cash machine.