Sam Page maintains slim lead over Phil Berger as counties certify votes
WENTWORTH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A race for a North Carolina Senate district is in the spotlight as the certified results rock the state's republican leadership in the legislature.
Senate President Phil Berger trails his challenger, Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page, by 23 votes in the North Carolina Senate District 26 race.
"At this time, the vote is complete in Rockingham County," said Rockingham County Board of Elections Chairman Don Powell.
Page called the certification a victory for him and the voters.
"I think that when you spend more of your time in Raleigh thinking about the operation there, and you forget about the citizens in the district, that's where you drop the ball," said Page.
ABC11 reached out to Berger for comment. His campaign responded with a statement late Friday afternoon.
"As Sen. Berger noted last Friday, our legal team is monitoring and evaluating this situation as election officials continue to adjudicate this process," said Jonathan Felts, the Berger Recount Spokesman. "As most of y'all are aware, we have until Tuesday at noon to ask for a recount and Tuesday at 5 p.m. to file an election protest. While I anticipate we will, at a minimum, request a machine recount, no decision has been made yet. Please rest assured that when we reach that decision, we will proactively announce it to all the good folks in the NCPOL press corps."
Before certifying the election results, Rockingham elections officials voted on three contested ballots.
The elections board director raised issues with those ballots. After a brief discussion, the board members voted to accept those votes in the total count.
Over in Guilford County, officials there say none of the business there on Friday related to or affected the outcome of this race.
Still, election officials say the razor-thin race is far from over.
"If one of the candidates asked for a recount, we already tentatively have that set for Thursday of next week because we are expecting a recount call," said Powell.
Either side has until Tuesday to ask for a recount or protest the election.
