The most watched primary in North Carolina
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Campaign signs for Phil Berger and Sam Page outside of the Jamestown Town Hall. Photo: Zachery Eanes/Axios
Residents of Reidsville, a town of nearly 15,000 north of Greensboro in Rockingham County, say they are tired of the mailers piling up in their mailboxes, exhausted of the ads that show up every time they turn on the TV or open Facebook, and wary of people knocking on their doors.
- "It's incredibly annoying, the amount of political material being sent out. They had some guy come up on my porch," Kelly Carl, 57, of Reidsville, told Axios, questioning the tactics of campaigning in state Senate District 26.
Why it matters: The approach is probably necessary, though. The showdown between Phil Berger, the most powerful Republican in the state, and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page could change the trajectory of North Carolina politics.
- If Berger were to lose to the charismatic cowboy hat-donning sheriff, whose name recognition locally rivals the incumbent, it would transform the levers of power in Raleigh, where Berger has wielded broad influence since leading a Republican takeover of the N.C. General Assembly 2010.
Driving the news: But while politicos in Raleigh fret over the outcome, it's up to the thousands of voters in Rockingham County and a sliver of Guilford County to decide.
- The district has been drawn to be conservative-leaning, meaning whoever wins this primary will almost certainly be the next state senator.
- And a mixture of local issues (like Berger's abandoned push to bring a casino to the county) and national issues (like who is tougher on immigration) is driving the outcomes.
Zoom in: Carl, who moved to Reidsville from Texas, is supporting Page, whom she finds to be "very ethical."
- She and most of her neighbors, Carl says, are throwing their support behind the sheriff because they view him as a "decent person" who is a "straight shooter."
State of play: On a recent visit to Reidsville and Jamestown in Guilford County, Axios spoke with dozens of voters, residents and political volunteers on the ground.
- Among those conversations, voters seemed mixed in their support between the two, who have both worked in Rockingham County politics for generations. Some wanted to vote for Page because it would be a change.
- "I think most people are confused and not sure," because they know both of them so well, said Lewis Smith, a 74-year-old from Ruffin. "But I'm gonna vote for Berger. I think he's done a good job ... and Sam Page is better off as sheriff."
- Others, like James, a 75-year-old from Reidsville, who declined to share his last name, said he would never vote for Berger. "I may not agree with [Page's] politics, but I agree with his integrity."
Some voters argued, however, that not keeping Berger in office would hurt Rockingham County's ability to secure resources from the state.
- Shannon Coates, a city council member in Reidsville, said he's been making that argument to Page supporters. "You can talk to people until you're blue in the face about it. We won't be getting anything," Coates said, from Raleigh without Berger.
- Kenny Hall, a 55-year-old from Reidsville, agreed. "There's a good chance someone new doesn't have as much clout or as much pull for our area."
Zoom out: Page has been criticized for his record as sheriff — specifically his perceived weakness on immigration — while Berger has been slammed as an insider who is out of touch with voters.
In Guilford County, voters don't have much experience with Page as a candidate.
- Shawn and Patricia Anderson, a married couple from Jamestown, said they didn't know much about Page other than what they had heard in commercials and mailers.
- "I'll be honest, though, it's Trump's backing," Patricia Anderson said, which has her and her husband backing Berger. (Trump, who has also praised Page, endorsed Berger last year, with many believing it was granted after Berger agreed to redraw the state's congressional map. Berger denies that.)
The bottom line: The closely watched primary is a tight race that could sway ongoing state budget negotiations and tip the balance of power in North Carolina.
