Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, has secured the most coveted Republican endorsement in North Carolina's closest-watched primary.
President Donald Trump endorsed Berger on Wednesday night, choosing his candidacy over that of Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page in the Republican primary to represent North Carolina's 26th Senate District.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Berger has his "complete and total endorsement." Trump also wrote about Berger, "HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!"
Thank you, @realDonaldTrump, for your complete and total endorsement! I'm honored to receive it. #ncpol pic.twitter.com/lKtkO5MGXI
— Senator Phil Berger (@SenatorBerger) December 11, 2025
The Berger and Page primary is being closely watched statewide. It is a contest between two officials who have each held elected office for more than 25 years and has quickly taken a turn for the negative.
"The president called to commend Senate Republicans’ work supporting his America First agenda at the state level — and I’m very grateful to have his full support as we pursue more conservative victories," Berger wrote in a statement.
Ads from a political action committee called "NC True Conservatives" have criticized Page for using taxpayer funds to visit casinos and resorts, trips Page argues are for professional development conferences.
Berger supporters have also noted that at least a dozen people have died in the Rockingham County Jail in recent years. Of those, five were death by suicide while three were drug overdoses. The News & Observer has reported.
The deaths and a lawsuit by one of the families whose loved one died by suicide in the jail contributed to Travelers dropping the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office as a customer for its law enforcement liability insurance, The N&O reported..
Page responds
Page has said that his candidacy stems from Berger's 2023 attempts to secure a casino for Rockingham County, an effort that Page has said took place without an appropriate amount of transparency.
At the time, Berger said North Carolina was losing out on tax revenue to a casino just over the state line in Danville, Virginia, and that such a facility would offer an economic boon to Rockingham and three other North Carolina counties.
Page's campaign platform includes working to raise North Carolina's starting teacher pay to $50,000, support of rolling back a 2023 law that puts lawmakers in charge of deciding which of their own records should be available to the public and support of term limits for lawmakers.
Trump, for his part, wrote that he is ready to offer Page a position in his administration if he backs down from the primary challenge.
"Sam Page is GREAT, he has been a longtime supporter, but I really want him to come work for us in Washington, D.C., rather than further considering a run against Phil — Both are such outstanding people!" Trump wrote.
Page responded Wednesday evening, pointing to the first clause in Trump's message and doubling down on his own candidacy.
"I’m running for the state Senate because I’ve spent my career being tough on crime, defending conservative values, and protecting the people of this state. North Carolina deserves better than the corruption and backroom deals we’ve gotten from Phil Berger," Page wrote.
Page also accused Berger of being too liberal, including in pushing for a repeal of House Bill 2, the so-called Bathroom Bill that banned local non-discrimination ordinances and required trans people to use the restroom matching their birth certificate. That resulted in economic losses, most notably the NBA moving its 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte because of the bill.
Support for Trump, reciprocated
Nationally, Trump has made seven endorsements in state legislative races, Western Carolina University politics professor Chris Cooper noted in a post on X Wednesday evening.
Berger is the first one of those in North Carolina, with all of the others located in Florida or Texas.
Both Berger and Page have a history of backing Trump's campaigns.
Page helmed the Sheriffs for Trump effort during his 2016 campaign and was Trump's North Carolina campaign chair in the 2020 election.
Berger, meanwhile, has a list on his campaign website of 20 ways that he backs Trump's agenda. Those include "keep men out of women's sports;" "strengthen and modernize our military;" and "stop the migrant crime epidemic and crush gang violence."
When North Carolina redistricted in October to give Republicans significant advantages in 11 of the state's 14 U.S. Congress seats instead of 10 of 14 seats, there were rumors that Berger had done so with the promise of a Trump endorsement.
At the time, Berger shot down those rumors, saying they were "unfounded (and) unsupported" and that he had "no idea" if an endorsement was coming.
Now, less than two months later, Trump has chosen a side.
North Carolina's primary election will take place on March 3, 2026.
