Six Degrees of Separation: Phil Berger edition
Okay. It’s been done for Kevin Bacon. Why NOT senator Phil Berger?
“The don” is still locked in a close electoral competition with Rockingham County sheriff Sam Page. Page has raised the point that it will be hard for him to receive fair treatment during any post-electoral reviews or inquiries about his race against Berger.
He may have a point. Berger has been at the top of the political heap in Raleigh for 15 years. In that time, he’s had plenty of opportunities to place family, friends, cronies, etc. in places of influence. In fact, if you look closely around the NC political universe, you can spot quite a few Berger family, friends, and cronies burrowed into the political establishment like ticks on a hunting dog.
We’ve pointed out how well Berger has *taken care of* his family politically over the years. (He also had his wife on the payroll has his assistant for a number of years.)
Over at WUNC public radio, they appear to be noticing what WE and Sam Page have been noticing about the heightened presence of Berger allies in key positions that could affect decisions about Berger’s election result:
As a recount (and possible election legal challenges) loom in the close primary between Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, Page is raising concerns over whether the process can be handled fairly.
Page noted that State Auditor Dave Boliek, who oversees the State Board of Elections, campaigned with Berger at an early voting site. “He was up in my county during the early voting doing a news conference with my opponent at a polling site,” Page said, according to WRAL. “That just shows a total conflict of interest. I’ve asked for Dave Boliek, our auditor, to step aside, to recuse himself.”
Boliek responded to Page’s comments during an unrelated news conference this week. “There’s nothing to recuse myself from,” Boliek said. “The process is clear, and in fact the process did not involve the governor previously making any decisions, and it does not involve the auditor making any decisions. Those decisions are made by the appointed board, so there’s nothing to recuse myself from.”[…]
Lest we forget that Boliek was recruited into the auditor primary by the Berger political machine. The *machine* also contributed heavily to Boliek campaign strategy and fundraising.
MORE:
[…] After 15 years leading the Senate — and 25 years representing Rockingham County in the legislature — Berger’s ties to the boards, agencies and courts that could have a role in post-election deliberations run deep.
From the local elections board to the N.C. Supreme Court, some key leaders have worked with Berger or his family – or in one case, ran against him in a past election. His son serves on the state’s highest court.
Page did not respond to phone calls and emails from WUNC News on whether he sees other potential “conflicts of interest” in the process of determining the primary’s final outcome.
Here’s a list of the people who might have a connection to the election process and any legal challenges. WUNC reached out to many of them to ask if they believe they have a conflict of interest or plan to recuse themselves, but most did not respond.
Rockingham County Board of Elections
The Rockingham County Board of Elections will oversee any recount for the ballots cast there, where Page won an overwhelming majority of votes. It will also conduct the initial review and ruling on any election challenges filed in Rockingham. Two of the board’s five members have connections to Berger or his immediate family, while one of the Democrats on the board is a past Berger foe.
None of the three board members responded to an email from WUNC News asking if they plan to recuse themselves.
Chairman Don Powell: Powell is a former Rockingham County commissioner who was an ally of Berger’s son, Kevin, when both served on the board. Powell was one of the incumbents who lost their re-election bid in 2024 to opponents of a proposed casino – the same issue Page used to campaign against Berger. A Sen. Berger-connected outside group funded ads opposing one of the candidates challenging the incumbent commissioners, WUNC previously reported. Powell donated to Berger’s campaigns in 2018 and 2019, long before he joined the elections board.
Bert Jones: He is a former Republican state House member who represented Rockingham alongside Berger in the legislature from 2011 to 2018.
Wally White: White is a Democrat who ran against Berger in the 2020 Senate election.
State Board of Elections
The State Board of Elections typically decides election challenges and other matters that get appealed from county-level boards. In late 2024, Berger and other legislative Republicans led the effort to strip the governor of the power to appoint the board, which then appoints its executive director, and instead grant that power to the state auditor – allowing for a GOP-majority board following the election of Boliek as auditor.
Executive Director Sam Hayes: Hayes served as general counsel to Berger’s House counterparts, Speakers Tim Moore and Destin Hall. Asked whether that could be considered a conflict of interest, Hayes responded with an emailed statement: “I was fortunate to work with Senator Berger at the General Assembly, and I certainly hold him in high esteem, but the voters of this state choose their elected leaders. This a largely county-driven process, and my role is limited to advising the State Board. There is no need for me to recuse myself because I intend to follow the law, as I have done throughout my tenure.”
Chairman Francis de Luca: De Luca previously led the Civitas Institute, which promoted conservative legislative priorities and rated legislators based on their adherence to the group’s agenda. Berger twice appointed him to a seat on the State Ethics Commission – in 2013 and again in 2022 after he retired from Civitas.
Leah Byers, legislative liaison: Byers was previously a top staffer for Sen. Ralph Hise, one of Berger’s top lieutenants in the Senate.
Brian LiVecchi, chief of staff: LiVecchi previously served as Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s chief of staff; the lieutenant governor presides over Senate sessions as its formal president.
Office of State Auditor
The auditor’s staff has numerous ties to Berger, but spokesman Randy Brechbiel said in an email that “the State Board of Elections has published adetailed description of the post-election process. That process doesn’t include any role for the State Auditor’s Office or any current staff of the State Auditor’s Office.”
Auditor Dave Boliek: He campaigned with Berger at a Rockingham County early voting site shortly before the election. He has donated to Berger’s campaigns in the past, but not during the latest election cycle.
Brent Woodcox, chief of staff: He served as a top legal advisor to Berger and Senate Republicans prior to joining the auditor’s staff in 2025.
Dallas Woodhouse, elections liaison: He served as executive director of the N.C. Republican Party from 2015 to 2019. State party organizations like the NCGOP are typically connected to the Senate caucus campaign organizations. […]
Dallas is THE ONE to keep the closest eye on. He has had an amazing habit of showing up in the vicinity of some of the biggest controversies / scandals in North Carolina politics in recent years.
MORE:
[…] Wesleigh Stout, general counsel:A former staffer for N.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby, Stout’s brother is Clay Vick, a staffer for the Senate Republican Caucus who is listed in Berger’s campaign finance reports as a paid fundraising consultant for his primary campaign. Their mother is longtime lobbyist Susan Vick, who was spotted working a polling site for Berger’s campaign.
Randy Brechbiel, communications director: Brechbiel served as a spokesperson for Berger in the Senate for several years prior to joining the auditor’s office last year.
N.C. Supreme Court
Any legal challenge to the election results would be appealed several times before it could reach the state’s highest court – but it’s happened before.
The N.C. Supreme Court had a role in adjudicating Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin’s challenge to Justice Allison Riggs’ narrow 2024 win.
Justice Phil Berger Jr.: Berger’s son has served on the court since 2021. In 2024, he declined to recuse himself from several cases involving his father, The News & Observer reported at the time. He referred the recusal requests to the full court, which determined his relationship did not constitute a conflict of interest because the cases involved the elder Berger in his official capacity, not a personal one. Berger Jr. did not respond to an email inquiry from WUNC News about whether he’d recuse himself from any cases related to his father’s primary election.
Justice Tamara Barringer: A former Republican senator who served with Berger from 2012 to 2018, she was elected to the Supreme Court in 2020. She also has not recused herself from past cases involving Sen. Berger and did not respond to an emailed inquiry from WUNC.
Just in case any of this goes federal, it’s important to note that the US Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina is former congressman and legislator Dan Bishop. Berger operatives significantly aided Bishop’s campaign efforts during his time in Congress and on Jones Street and during his 2024 run for attorney general.
