The Berger crew can hear the sheriff knocking.

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As the March primary date draws closer, events in the state Senate district 26 GOP primary are looking more like they’re ripped from a soap opera script. 

Senator Phil Berger is widely recognized as the man running the show in state politics.  Raleigh, some say, is literally HIS town.

Rockingham County sheriff Sam Page, however, is mounting an effort that seriously looks like it will curtail the Berger clan’s hostile takeover of state government, the NCGOP, and state politics in general.  Page, one of the more popular political figures ever in Rockingham County, is challenging Berger in the March GOP primary for senate district 26 — which includes Rockingham County and a portion of Guilford. 

You may have heard that the Trump White House has asked Raleigh Republicans to re-configure some US House seats in the state to bolster GOP numbers in the Congress.  Dealing with Phil Berger, there is almost always some kind of quid pro quo.  The word on the street has focused on two possibilities: (1) that Berger will agree to help revise the state’s congressional map in exchange for a Trump endorsement in the primary fight with Page, or (2) the map can be revised to create a new congressional district very compatible to a candidacy from a Berger family member.

After March and November of next year, Phil Berger will likely be looking for a new job. Would the godfather be compatible with — and be able to work his, um, *magic* in — Our Nation’s Capital? 

Phil’s three kids all have government jobs dependent on him being in place to protect them with his political muscle.  Phil, Jr. is on the state Supreme Court.  His daughter has a good state job writing and editing regulations for the bureaucracy.  His other son, Kevin, chairs the Rockingham County board of commisioners.

The chattering classes had a field day this week when it became apparent that someone had reserved and paid for the website address kevinbergerforcongress.com.  (Brother  Phil, Jr. has one unsuccessful congressional run under his belt.)

Kevin got reelected as a county commissioner by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin in 2024.  And that was with his dad sitting in office running things in Raleigh.  What happens when daddy is gone? 

When confronted by local media about a possible bid for Congress, Kevin shot that talk down and took another shot at his daddy’s primary opponent:

[…] “I am not running for Congress. Sam Page has made so much of a mess of the Sheriff’s Office, I am devoting my time to fixing the mess he made in Rockingham County.” […]

As expected, sheriff Sam Page had a response for Kevin:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2024, Kevin Berger won reelection to the county board with 24.2 percent.   In 2022, Sam Page won reelection to his post with 65 percent of the vote. (Both men had two opponents.) It seems pretty clear who has more respect and support from the voters of Rockingham County. 

Phil Berger started off the Republican Era in Raleigh looking like a real public servant.  That was easy, I guess, when you had Thom Tillis as your counterpart in the House.

Sadly, Phil Berger has devolved more into a robber baron / Tammany Hall party boss.   It has become all about the heftiness of his and his cronies’ bank accounts and a lot less about you, me, and the future of our great state.

You folks in state senate district 26 can do yourselves and your brothers and sisters in the rest of North Carolina a real service in March 2026.