{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\n\nPhilip Edward Berger served as President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina State Senate from January 2011 through 2026, representing District 26 (Guilford and Rockingham counties). In 2026, he ran for re-election in the Republican primary but narrowly lost to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by 23 votes after a full machine recount. Berger conceded on March 24, 2026, ending a career spanning more than a quarter-century in the state legislature.\n\n## Background and education\n\nBerger was born on August 8, 1952, in New Rochelle, New York, and grew up in Danville, Virginia, where he graduated from George Washington High School in 1970. He attended Danville Community College and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Averett College in 1980. He earned his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1982.\n\n## Career\n\nAfter law school, Berger clerked for a year at the North Carolina Court of Appeals, then joined an Eden law firm in 1984. In 2001, he co-founded the Berger Law Firm with his two sons. He was first elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2000, and became President Pro Tempore when Republicans took control of the Senate for the first time in 140 years in 2011.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Phil Berger (politician) \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Berger_(politician))\n- [2] [Senator Phil Berger Biography \u2013 NC General Assembly](https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/s/64)\n- [3] [Phil Berger concedes NC Senate primary \u2013 CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/24/politics/phil-berger-sam-page-north-carolina-senate)","campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_026","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"Nc State Senate District 26"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Philip","fullname":"Philip Edward Berger","lastname":"Berger","middlename":"Edward","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"state_senate_026","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 26","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"state_senate_026","contest_title":"Nc State Senate District 26","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","party":"REP","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"REP","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"state_senate","office_title":"State Senator","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"72373615b4d42e54"}