It's Over
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page unseated state Senate leader Phil Berger. What happens next? Plus, an update on a murder case.
While all eyes were on state Senate leader Phil Berger three weeks ago, I thought Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page could very well eke out a win. And I wanted to be wherever he was if that happened.
The mood was upbeat when I got to the church gymnasium in Stokesdale where Page was holding his primary results party. About an hour later, with the early votes in and Rockingham County reporting Election Day results, Page supporters erupted. A handful made their way over to the sheriff to congratulate him on his win.
The vote tallies got closer as the night wore on; at one point, I caught a photo of Page sitting alone, clinging to his phone, under a gym scoreboard that read “Home of the Conquerors.” After that, he ducked into a storage room for a while to avoid the cameras.
As 11 p.m. approached, Page’s supporters gathered in the middle of the gym to pray for his lead to hold. When the state election board website refreshed one last time, the crowd erupted again. Page ended the night ahead of Berger by two votes.
Page beelined toward the stage to declare victory. To many of us, that seemed awfully premature. Both counties still needed to count provisional ballots, and a recount was all but guaranteed.
It took a few weeks, but this week, his win became official. Berger conceded, and the state’s most powerful Republican became a lame duck. Read on for more on what happened—and what’s next.
