Senate Leader Berger Calls Out Democrat Meddling in Republican Primaries
Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger is calling out Democrat meddling in the Republican Primary in Senate District 26. In the press release, Berger claims that dark money liberal groups are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to boost his primary opponent.
Recently, Senator Berger earned the endorsement of the National Rifle Association. This is the latest conservative group to endorse Berger, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Americans for Prosperity, and the NC Values Coalition. Sheriff Sam Page declined to return a request for comment or to disavow the liberal groups supporting him.
“Sam Page is the Democrats’ candidate in the Republican primary against conservative champion Phil Berger,” campaign spokesman Michael Luethy said. “Sen. Berger has run circles around the Democrats in North Carolina for 15 years. That’s why they’re so desperately and brazenly supporting former Democrat Sam Page.”
While Phil Berger has been garnering support from conservative groups, Democrats across North Carolina have been clamoring for support for Sam Page. ·
Left-wing blogger Thomas Mills recently put out a call to action on his PoliticsNC Substack: “Some progressive dark money group should help Page.”
Dorian Palmer, the director of Coalitions and Community Engagement for the North Carolina Democratic Party, also called on people to donate and support Sam Page.
Graig Meyer, the radical liberal state senator from Chapel Hill, in a missive on his Facebook page, said he’s “focused on” Sen. Berger’s primary and admits defeat would “make it much harder for [Republicans] to have a strongly coordinated campaign in the fall.”
As Democrat influencers continue to back Page, several dark money groups have popped up pushing misleading ads.
“Piedmont Accountability Coalition” aired an ad attacking Berger for not advancing a Democrat health care policy. The Affordable Healthcare Coalition of North Carolina fact-checked the ad as “dangerously false.” Pointing out that the bill was sponsored by Democrats and that insurance companies already pay for the screenings referenced in the ad. · NC Families For Prosperity based in Chapel Hill, has been attacking Berger following President Trump’s lead. This group is clearly trying to confuse voters by utilizing a name similar to a better-known conservative organization.
Earlier this week, the “NC Partnership for Good Government,” which is also incorporated by Chapel Hill attorney Josh Starin, began airing an ad attacking Sen. Berger.
The Berger campaign suggested that these liberal groups are supporting Page, given Page’s less-than-conservative record. Here are some highlights.
Page opposes President Trump’s universal school choice initiative.
Page supports a budget endorsed by liberal Democrat Gov. Josh Stein that increases taxes
Page refused to work for President Trump.
Page ran as a Democrat in his first campaign.
Tim’s Take: As I predicted several months ago, dark money liberal groups are coming out of the woodwork to support Page. Now that early voting has started, it's likely that even more groups will pop up sharing dubious claims to try to deceive Republican primary voters.
