Key keywords: North Carolina 2024 Senate primary, Phil Berger concession, 23-vote election margin, Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page, North Carolina GOP incumbent upset, mandatory election recount, down-ballot race results, North Carolina State Senate leadership The highest-ranking Republican in North Carolina’s state legislature, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, officially conceded his 2024 primary re-election bid on Wednesday, after a state-mandated recount confirmed he lost to first-time legislative candidate and longtime Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by a margin of just 23 votes. Berger, who has held the top Senate leadership post for 14 years and is widely considered one of the most powerful politicians in the state, had held his 26th Senate District seat representing Rockingham and Stokes counties since 2001. During his tenure, he spearheaded a string of landmark conservative policy wins, including the state’s 12-week abortion ban, strict voter ID legislation, expansion of private school voucher programs, and rolling back of environmental regulations for local small businesses. He also played a central role in the state’s redistricting process after the 2020 census, which secured Republican supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature for most of the past decade. The initial vote count on primary night showed Page leading by 34 votes, a narrow enough gap to trigger an automatic recount under North Carolina election law, which requires a recount for all races where the final margin is less than 0.5% of total votes cast. Elections officials from both counties spent three full days recounting more than 31,000 ballots via both hand and machine counts, with appointed observers from both Berger and Page’s campaigns present throughout the entire process to monitor for irregularities. The final recount adjusted the margin slightly to 23 votes, with no evidence of widespread voter fraud or counting errors found, according to a formal statement from the North Carolina State Board of Elections released Tuesday. In his public concession statement, Berger said he accepted the recount results “without reservation” and thanked his constituents for their support over his 23 years in office. “I am proud of the work we did to cut taxes for working families, keep communities safe across the state, and expand educational opportunity for North Carolina children, and I wish Sheriff Page the best as he takes on this role next year,” Berger said. He added that he has no plans to run for public office again in the near future. Page, a 22-year veteran of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office who ran a grassroots campaign focused on local public safety, border security, and opposing “career political insiders,” called the win a “victory for everyday people who feel ignored by the Raleigh establishment.” He is expected to face no Democratic opposition in the November general election, meaning he will almost certainly take office in January 2025. Political analysts have framed the upset as one of the most shocking primary results of the 2024 election cycle, highlighting growing anti-incumbent sentiment among GOP voters across the country, particularly in rural districts.