This card is for voters in Guilford and Rockingham. Same concern set as the other November cards.
In 20 seconds
A state senator votes on the levy-limit amendment, school-choice dollars, Medicaid rules, and whether a local “no” on casinos or zoning still stands. The seat does not set Guilford’s tax rate by itself.
Sam Page (R), former Rockingham sheriff, faces Steve Luking (D), retired physician, in the district covering Guilford and Rockingham. Phil Berger remains the sitting senator through this term but is not on this ballot line.
On the published concern set: Page 11 of 11, Luking 2 of 11. A tally is not an endorsement.
Republican · former Rockingham sheriff
Democrat · retired physician
Start here
- What this office does
- A state senator votes on the levy-limit amendment, ICE language, school-choice dollars, Medicaid rules, and whether a local “no” on casinos or zoning still stands. The seat does not set Guilford’s tax rate by itself.
- What this district covers
- Guilford and Rockingham. Open after Page unseated Senate leader Phil Berger by 23 votes in the March GOP primary.
- What this card does — and does not do
- It marks the two names on the November line against a published concern set. It is not an endorsement.
✓ = matches the published concern set, on the public record we used.
✗ = does not, on that record.
— = no recorded vote and no published plank. We do not invent a mark.
The concern set used here: cost of living, crime, jobs, educational opportunity, and free and fair elections.
Both may earn ✓ on the same row. Marks are not an endorsement. Full rules: how we score.
Matches the Piedmont concern set
Sam Page · 11 of 11
Steve Luking · 2 of 11
Issue-by-issue marks are in the table below.
| Issue | Sam Page (R) | Mark | Steve Luking (D) | Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property-tax levy limit (HB 1089) | No House/Senate vote yet. Aligns with the cap-the-growth side as a sheriff-tax hawk. | ✓ | Democratic nominee. Party caucus opposed the levy-limit amendment. | ✗ |
| Reappraisal moratorium (SB 889) | Local-control sheriff. Backed state relief when counties overshot values. | Would keep more of the decision in Raleigh Democrats’ spending frame. | ||
| School choice vs. county school operating money | Republican caucus: Opportunity Scholarships stay. Local schools compete. | Rejects vouchers. Put the dollar back in the county formula. | ||
| Teacher pay (SB 257 — 8% avg, $48k start) | GOP-written budget Stein signed. Page was not yet seated; his caucus passed it. | Supports the enacted raise. Wants a larger next step. | ||
| Medicaid and rural hospitals | Work rules and anti-fraud. Rockingham hospitals need a solvent program. | Protect expansion. Physician lens on coverage. | ||
| Crime, jails, and ICE detainers | Has been a sitting Sheriff. Supports honoring detainers. | Refuse to voluntarily sign 287(g) agreements which require cooperation betweeen local deputies and federal immigration agents. | ||
| Casinos and local say | In the primary Page supported local desires concerning casinos. | Not a casino candidate. Health and schools first. | ||
| Housing and zoning preemption | Keep towns in charge of growth. Local ‘no’ stays a no. | No published housing plank. Party line: state rules that override a local ban on more units. | ||
| Data centers — jobs vs. the grid and the household bill | No published ordinance. Local-control record from the casino fight. Weigh tax and jobs against the resource load; keep the county veto. | Posted that Rockingham and Guilford should regulate locally: special-use rules, closed-loop cooling, and a guarantee the load does not raise local bills. | ||
| Election rules | Photo ID and citizenship checks. | Oppose new proof-of-citizenship hurdles. | ||
| Roads and rural Guilford / Rockingham | No published roads plank. Infer: DOT money to county roads, not just the urban core. | No published roads plank. Campaign emphasis is healthcare and schools, not a DOT program. | — | |
| Who they caucus with | GOP Senate. One seat toward a veto-proof majority. | — | Democratic minority. One seat against that majority. | — |
A dash is not a verdict on character. It means we could not mark the row from the record in front of us.
Property-tax levy limit (HB 1089)
No House/Senate vote yet. Aligns with the cap-the-growth side as a sheriff-tax hawk.
Democratic nominee. Party caucus opposed the levy-limit amendment.
Reappraisal moratorium (SB 889)
Local-control sheriff. Backed state relief when counties overshot values.
Would keep more of the decision in Raleigh Democrats’ spending frame.
School choice vs. county school operating money
Republican caucus: Opportunity Scholarships stay. Local schools compete.
Rejects vouchers. Put the dollar back in the county formula.
Teacher pay (SB 257 — 8% avg, $48k start)
GOP-written budget Stein signed. Page was not yet seated; his caucus passed it.
Supports the enacted raise. Wants a larger next step.
Medicaid and rural hospitals
Work rules and anti-fraud. Rockingham hospitals need a solvent program.
Protect expansion. Physician lens on coverage.
Crime, jails, and ICE detainers
Sitting sheriff. Honor detainers. Operations first.
Democrat line: enforcement without a 287(g) push.
Casinos and local say
Primary was a casino revolt against Berger. Local veto is the brand.
Not a casino candidate. Health and schools first.
Housing and zoning preemption
Keep towns in charge of growth. Local ‘no’ stays a no.
No published housing plank. Party line: state rules that override a local ban on more units.
Data centers — jobs vs. the grid and the household bill
No published ordinance. Local-control record from the casino fight. Weigh tax and jobs against the resource load; keep the county veto.
Posted that Rockingham and Guilford should regulate locally: special-use rules, closed-loop cooling, and a guarantee the load does not raise local bills.
Election rules
Photo ID and citizenship checks.
Oppose new proof-of-citizenship hurdles.
Roads and rural Guilford / Rockingham
No published roads plank. Infer: DOT money to county roads, not just the urban core.
No published roads plank. Campaign emphasis is healthcare and schools, not a DOT program.
Who they caucus with
GOP Senate. One seat toward a veto-proof majority.
Democratic minority. One seat against that majority.
If these are your District 26 priorities
This district just fired the most powerful man in Raleigh over casinos and home-county control. The November election is not a rerun of that primary. Rather, it is a referendum on whether the next senator votes with the levy-limit, ICE, voucher, and election-rule majority or against it.
Page has no HB 1089 roll call. He has a sheriff’s record and a primary that was a local-control revolt. Luking’s case is Medicaid expansion, teacher pay, and a Democratic caucus. Both men pass the data-center load test on this card. On tax cap, detainers, casinos, and election rules — Page is the closer fit.
- Sources (public record)
- Ballotpedia SD-26 · March 2026 primary (Page 13,135 – Berger 13,112) · Herald-Sun on Page v. Kevin Berger suit · Civitas R+9 rating · Our Piedmont HB 1089 brief · Steve Luking 4 NC on data-center special-use rules (Mar. 30, 2026) · SB 257 teacher-pay budget (signed July 7, 2026)
If either campaign has a correction to a vote or a platform statement: hello@ourpiedmont.com.
Our Piedmont Education Foundation · 301 S Elm Street, Suite 605, Greensboro, NC 27401. This page is voter education. It is not an endorsement of, or opposition to, either candidate. Draft for internal review · August 28, 2026.