North Carolina Primaries Show Cracks In Republican Party
On both the state and national levels, North Carolina is shaping up to be one of the more interesting races in the upcoming midterms. On the state level, a battle is growing between the longtime Republican Senate President and a local sheriff who’s making waves, and nationally, it looks like North Carolina could very well see one of its Senate seats flip from Red to Blue.
According to the New York Times, one of the hottest contested races is between state Senate President Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. Berger has served in the state Senate since 2001 and has been its president pro tempore since 2011. President Donald Trump has endorsed Berger, but is also friendly with Page.
Page is causing problems for the GOP establishment in several ways. Berger has largely coasted to reelection in his prior campaigns. That’s not been the case this time around, with the Republican Party having to spend an undisclosed, but presumably large amount, to effectively campaign against Page. There are concerns that the amount that’s been spent on Berger’s campaign will mean there will be little left to support other state Republicans running in tight races across the state.
The second, perhaps most impactful problem, is that if Page does win, he will effectively take out one of the most effective power brokers in North Carolina politics.
“North Carolina hasn’t seen a primary race like this in decades, and probably hasn’t ever seen one like this where the stakes could not be higher,” Andrew Dunn, a GOP strategist, told the Times. “If Senator Berger loses, that creates a gigantic power vacuum in North Carolina politics, and it’s unclear who would fill that.”
Politics is built on relationships. While yes, ideology plays an unfortunately heavy role in legislation being passed these days, one can’t discount the power of long-term relationships. If Berger loses, the state Senate would still be majority Republican, but it could succumb to the same kind of infighting that has plagued the GOP on the national level.
What’s interesting in this race is that both Berger and Page are pro-Trump Republicans. Berger isn’t even remotely a moderate; he was the key driving force that got the state Senate to pass legislation that curbed the governor’s power after Democrat Josh Stein was elected in 2024. Heck, he was the one who pushed forward North Carolina’s redistricting effort last year that potentially gives the GOP an extra House seat in the state. Page’s ascent seems to be an indicator of the growing wave of anti-establishment sentiment that is present in voters of both parties.
Which I honestly find odd, considering that Page is also tight with Trump, who, by virtue of being the literal president of the United States, is the establishment. Granted, if I tried to make sense of MAGA logic, I would probably go insane.
While North Carolina voters are heavily invested in the Berger vs. Page saga, I’m personally more interested in what’s happening in the state’s U.S. Senate race. You know how I said politics are built on relationships? Trump sucks at that.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) was one of the few Republicans to vote against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” over concerns about how many people in his state would lose Medicaid coverage under the new legislation. A completely reasonable position that Trump took as a personal attack. After Tillis voted no on the bill, Trump posted on social media that Tillis was “making a BIG MISTAKE” and that he would support a primary against Tillis. Tillis responded by announcing he wouldn’t be running for reelection.
In essentially forcing Tillis to retire from the Senate, Trump may have hurt the GOP’s chances to maintain control of his seat. The Democratic front-runner to replace Tillis is former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Trump has endorsed RNC Chair Michael Whatley as the Republican nominee in North Carolina’s Senate race. Cooper has never lost a race in his storied career, and early polling shows Cooper has the advantage over whoever wins the Republican nomination. Which makes sense considering Cooper is a household name in North Carolina, with years of experience, a winning record, and Whatley is, you know, a guy.
I don’t know how else to describe him, as Whatley’s campaign website is threadbare. There are plenty of pictures of him with Trump, but little information about his policy positions. He doesn’t have much experience as a public servant beyond being chair of the Republican National Committee, so it’s not like he’s a well-known figure among North Carolina voters. In looking for a yes man, Trump may have instead provided a layup to one of his political opponents.
The guy sure knows how to win.
Early voting starts Thursday in North Carolina, with the primary election taking place on March 3. So it’s only a matter of time before we find out what the Republican Party’s future looks like in the state.
SEE ALSO:
North Carolina Lawmakers Announce Redistricting Effort
North Carolina’s GOP State Legislature Passes Gerrymandered Map
North Carolina Primaries Show Cracks In Republican Party was originally published on newsone.com
