Top Primaries to Watch in 2026

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These are the 2026 primaries in North Carolina that are expected to be the most competitive, consequential, or interesting—or all three. 

In-person early voting begins Thursday, and March 3 is the official primary day.

1. Senate District 26 Republican Primary

The state Senate showdown between GOP leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page is undoubtedly the most important North Carolina primary to watch.

Berger joined the chamber in 2001 and took over a decade later thanks in large part to a GOP wave fueled by public frustration over the slow recovery from the Great Recession under Democratic leadership. 

With Berger at the helm, the legislature has targeted illegal immigration, lowered corporate and personal income tax rates, expanded Medicaid, and entrenched the GOP’s political grip in the state by drawing highly favorable voting maps, reconfiguring the makeup of various agencies, and making statewide judicial contests partisan. 

But Berger drew the ire of constituents and fellow Republican leaders in 2023 after pushing for a casino in Rockingham County. He ultimately lost a showdown with then-House Speaker Tim Moore, whose chamber opposed including non-tribal casinos and video lottery terminals in the state budget. 

As Page spotted cracks in Berger’s armor, he weighed whether to run against him in 2024. The Rockingham County sheriff met privately with Berger in December 2023 before sticking with his original plan to run for lieutenant governor.

Page finished fifth in the 11-candidate primary, but he won more votes in his home county than all of his opponents combined. In the same election, Berger’s son Kevin survived a primary challenge to hang onto his county commission seat by a mere three votes, or 0.01 percentage points.

Page announced last year that he would take on the senior Berger. His bid comes in spite of an arm-twisting effort by his party to convince him not to run. A top state senator left a note at Page’s doorstep pleading for him to drop out, WRAL reported, and President Donald Trump urged Page to drop out of the race and offered him a role in his administration.

A primary victory for Berger would reaffirm his influence, while a defeat could signal growing frustration with the status quo in Raleigh. 

What little reliable polling we’ve seen in this race suggests it could be close.

But for all the attention Rockingham County has received, the outcome will likely be decided in Guilford County, which constitutes 57% of the district. This could benefit Berger, who is both better known and has more resources to reach voters in the Greensboro media market.

Page entered 2026 with over $29,000 in his campaign coffers, which pales in comparison to the nearly $1.6 million Berger had in cash on hand, according to the candidates’ latest finance reports.

2. House District 106 Democratic Primary

This may be the toughest Democratic primary to get a read on.

Rep. Carla Cunningham of Mecklenburg County was the most conservative-voting Democrat in Raleigh last year, so it’s not surprising that many in her party want her out. She received fierce pushback over comments she made about immigration last year, and because she voted with Republicans to override the governor’s vetoes, the state party is withholding a critical voter-turnout tool. 

Challenger Rev. Rodney Sadler is running with Stein’s support, and while he’s less known, he stands to benefit from the party’s frustration.

Vermanno Bowman, a Democrat who lost to Cunningham in the 2024 primary by 69 percentage points, is also running. It’s difficult to see a path for him, but his candidacy helps the incumbent if he and Sadler split the more progressive vote.

Whoever wins the primary should cruise to an easy victory in the general election. But this race could say a lot about the mood of the party—and if Republicans again fail to win a supermajority in the House, it could mean the difference on overriding the governor’s veto. 

3. 1st Congressional District Republican Primary

The outcome of this five-person race will decide who gets a chance to run in what’s poised to be the most competitive congressional race this fall, so it’s fitting that the candidates are already butting heads.

A Black Democrat has represented the expansive northeastern district since 1992, and no Republican has held the seat since 1883.

That could change this year under the new voting map Republican lawmakers passed last fall that moved U.S. Rep. Don Davis’ seat from a tossup to leaning Republican, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Army veteran Laurie Buckhout is seen as the favorite to win the GOP primary, given her name recognition from a narrow loss to Davis in 2024 and a sizable financial advantage over her primary competitors. 

State Sen. Bobby Hanig of Currituck County, businessman Eric Rouse, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, and divorce attorney Ashley-Nicole Russell are also vying for the nomination.

Buckhout wasn’t planning to run, but changed her mind and got into the race after Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson dropped out. Buckhout had previously voiced health concerns over burn pit exposure she experienced in Iraq, but she says her health improved after she took a cyber defense job in the Trump administration in March 2025.

Hanig is arguably the next-most prominent candidate after he publicly lobbied his state House counterparts to tank a bill banning shrimp trawling. 

Rouse presents himself as the most Trump-aligned candidate in the race, noting Hanig initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024.

Buck was first elected sheriff in 2006 and is well known in his own community, but the district includes parts of 25 counties. And between her more limited campaign resources and lack of elected experience, Russell has the biggest uphill battle.

Latest campaign finance reports show Buckhout entered 2026 with nearly twice as much money as her four opponents combined. Nearly all of it came from a personal loan she made to her campaign. 

4. 4th Congressional District Democratic Primary

This Durham-area U.S. House primary will be a heavyweight bout between incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee and progressive challenger Nida Allam. The outcome will show the direction one of the state’s most liberal districts is heading. (Democrat Mary Patterson is also running, but isn’t seen as a serious threat.)

In 2022, Allam lost to Foushee by 9 percentage points. But that was in an eight-person field, and the district has been altered dramatically since then, likely to Allam’s advantage.

The 4th District included all or parts of six counties in 2022; Allam carried Durham, while Foushee handily won the rest. This year, four of the five counties Foushee won have been drawn out: Alamance, Caswell, Granville, and Person. Orange County remains, but it has less than half as many voters as Durham. The district also gained one-fifth of Wake and most of Chatham.

Allam is off to a strong start since announcing her campaign in December. The Durham County commissioner raised more than $334,000 in roughly three weeks, while Foushee took in less than $140,000 over the quarter.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Allam are scheduled to host an event on Friday as part of the senator’s “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, and Sanders has called Allam “a great progressive candidate for Congress.”

Foushee has support from the state Democratic Party’s congressional delegation, Gov. Josh Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper, and top state legislative Democrats. 

Immigration and U.S. support for Israel are likely to be the most pressing issues in the race. Last year, Allam posted a video of federal agents taking three individuals into custody outside a shopping center. She accused the agents of “kidnapping people” and directed her supporters to call an advocacy group if they spot officers. Foushee has called for federal immigration enforcement agents to be unmasked and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. 

The two candidates have also tangled over the role the U.S. should have in the war in Gaza.

Allam, the first Muslim woman to hold elected office in North Carolina, apologized in 2022 for a tweet that she said was unintentionally anti-Semitic. She has criticized Foushee for accepting more than $2 million during the 2022 election from United Democracy Project, the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and for traveling to Israel with a delegation the group organized. Foushee said at a town hall last year that she wouldn’t accept money from the group in the 2026 election.

Foushee said last month that she opposes additional spending on conflicts in the Middle East and South America beyond humanitarian relief.

5. House District 27 Democratic Primary

In 2024, political newcomer Rodney Pierce defeated state Rep. Michael Wray of Northampton County by the narrowest margin of any legislative primary in the state. Now, Wray is looking for a rematch. But to have a different outcome, he’ll have to overcome some new barriers.

Stein has endorsed Pierce, and the state Democratic Party is withholding access to VoteBuilder for Wray’s campaign. 

Wray was one of a small handful of Democrats unafraid to buck his party and override Cooper’s vetoes. Pierce, on the other hand, has been in lockstep with Stein. Whether primary voters reward Wray’s independent streak or Pierce’s loyalty remains to be seen.

Unlike many legislative candidates, Wray is well-funded, entering 2026 with $116,000 in available cash. Pierce’s spending report isn’t yet publicly available.

6. Senate District 1 Republican Primary

This contest for the open coastal seat that Hanig currently holds has attracted four GOP candidates.

Former Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett has garnered the most attention in the race. A Dare County resident Tillett previously sanctioned posted a recording in December in which he claims Tillett used the N-word and joked about shooting a Black man. Tillett has denied it and called for a district attorney to investigate. The DA reached out to the State Bureau of Investigation, which found no evidence of a crime and closed the inquiry. The Assembly reported on this dispute in detail. Tillett has since sued his former daughter-in-law, her new husband, a website publisher, and a social media antagonist for defamation.

Farmer Jay Lane has the support of Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and a number of state senators, including Rules Chairman Bill Rabon, according to his campaign website.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Cole Johnson and Gates County Commissioner David Forsythe are also running, but they haven’t submitted the paperwork needed to raise money, according to the State Board of Elections.

7. House District 60 Democratic Primary

Four Democrats are vying for the seat previously held by Cecil Brockman, who resigned last year after being arrested and charged with a number of sexual offenses against minors.

Local Democrats tapped High Point City Councilwoman Amanda Cook to replace Brockman, but she must win a competitive primary if she wants to continue serving. 

Also in the race: Angie Williams-McMichael, a former charter school teacher; Joe Alston, a former chair for the Guilford County Democratic Party; and Bruce Davis, a former Guilford County commissioner.

8. House District 79 Republican Primary

There’s perhaps no lawmaker who frustrates the Republican establishment more than Rep. Keith Kidwell of Beaufort County.

Kidwell, who most famously pressed his colleagues to kill a shrimp trawling bill last year, leads the House Freedom Caucus. Farmer and business owner Darren Armstrong is challenging him this year, and has the support of Troxler and state Rep. Jimmy Dixon, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

In December, Kidwell shared a text exchange with WUNC in which Dixon told him he had recruited Armstrong. Kidwell said he believed the dispute stemmed from his opposition to a farm bill provision protecting pesticide companies from lawsuits. 

9. Senate District 34 Republican Primary

When state Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton left office last year to become the chief attorney at UNC-Chapel Hill, Cabarrus County Commissioner Chris Measmer filled the vacant seat.

Now, Measmer faces a formidable challenge from former state Rep. Kevin Crutchfield, who lost a reelection bid in 2024.

Both candidates are operating on thin budgets.

Crutchfield loaned his campaign $25,000 at the end of last year and reported a $5,000 check from the North Carolina Republican Party that had been “lost and never cashed.” Beyond that, he raised almost no money, though he filed for office in early December and only had a few weeks to attract support before the reporting deadline. Measmer raised nearly $38,000, but much of that came from fellow state lawmakers. 

With Measmer running for the first time and Crutchfield currently out of office, it’s tough to get a read on this race, making it interesting to watch.

10. House District 113 Republican Primary

Since joining the House in 2019, Rep. Jake Johnson of Polk County has steadily risen through party ranks to deputy majority whip, working to keep the caucus together on key votes.

When Hurricane Helene struck his district, he was quick to call for additional relief. But Western North Carolina continues to grapple with a slow recovery, which Republicans and Democrats alike have pinned on the federal bureaucracy.

While state lawmakers have passed multiple rounds of relief funding, homeowners and small businesses continue to struggle. This race could tell us how much voters blame Republican leaders.

Johnson faces a challenge from former House Majority Leader Mike Hager, who abruptly resigned in 2016. A former engineer for Duke Energy, Hager occasionally clashed with top Republicans in the chamber and launched an unsuccessful bid for House speaker in 2014. 

The primary shows signs of becoming one of the most expensive in the state. Hager entered 2026 with nearly $158,000 in available cash to Johnson’s $119,000.

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For the true political nerds, The Assembly broke down 16 additional races, for a total of 26 races in 2026. (Wish us luck in 2050.) Read more here.