The campaign was managed by one or more PAC’s that were independent of Phil Berger’s campaign.
Sheriffs are incredibly influential people in North Carolina’s rural communities. People don’t know their legislators, but they DO know their sheriff. He/she keeps them safe. They see the sheriff in the community on a daily or weekly basis. As soon as word got around that sheriff Page might be filing against the senator, Berger’s goons began trashing Page six ways to September. Ads and mailers filled with outrageous exaggerations and outright lies flooded Rockingham County.
Instead of making people mad at Page, it got people mad at Berger. They’d known Page for nearly 30 years. They knew the garbage compiled by the Raleigh lobbyists and consultants and PACs wasn’t true. A sheriff is typically the most trusted, respected leader in a community. A sheriff who has served three or more terms is likely loved and respected. So, slandering the sheriff like he’s a Chapel Hill liberal is likely not a very smart move.
Yeah, Berger could have chosen another campaign strategy. This approach, as you say, backfired and woke up the citizens for Page.
I think it made a lot of people upset, Fred.