North Carolina
North Carolina’s Berger optimistic about budget, blames Democrats for primary loss
A top North Carolina lawmaker who suffered a stunning upset in his primary election last month spoke publicly about the result Tuesday, blaming the loss on political opponents across the aisle.
North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger — who has led the chamber since 2011 — lost the Republican primary for his seat to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page by 23 votes, one of the closest elections in state history. Berger conceded defeat in a March 24 statement after a machine recount and partial hand recount yielded no change in Page’s lead.
Berger discussed the experience with reporters Tuesday after lawmakers convened for a short legislative session in Raleigh. Asked what message voters sent him in the primary, Berger said: “Democrats like to vote in some Republican primaries. That’s the message.”
Berger didn’t elaborate on his explanation. Registered Democrats are only allowed to take Democratic ballots in primary elections. But unaffiliated voters are allowed to participate in a party primary of their choice. Berger didn’t suggest changes to that law, but he mentioned possible examination of other election laws.
He said lawmakers should reconsider the number of days North Carolina allows for early voting in primaries. In-person early voting started on Feb. 12 and ended Feb. 28.
“Seventeen days of early voting just seemed pretty excessive and it really stresses the local boards of elections,” Berger said. Some county election boards struggle to find daily staffing for all of their voting sites in the early voting period, he said.
Minority Leader Sydney Batch, D-Wake, called Berger’s comments “an insult to his district and an affront to our democracy.”
“The voters sent him a clear message,” Batch said. “It’s time he accept it and get back to work to finish the job he still has, while he still has it. Pass a budget.”
State lawmakers haven’t adopted a comprehensive state budget since 2023. They were expected to do so last year, but Berger and Republican House Speaker Destin Hall have been at odds over a range of issues, including tax policy, Medicaid funding, and other line items affecting billions of dollars in state funding.
Berger said Tuesday that he and Hall were on the verge of a spending agreement for Medicaid, the government-funded health insurer for people who are young, impoverished or disabled. Republican legislators plan to approve Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s $319 Medicaid request, while adding guardrails and oversight measures to prevent fraud and waste.
To strike the deal, Berger said Tuesday that he had agreed to postpone discussions about funding for a massive new children’s hospital. The 2023 budget authorized about $320 million over three fiscal years for North Carolina Children’s Health — a partnership between UNC Health and Duke Health — to open in Apex in 2032. About $216 million has already been spent. Hall has said his caucus wants to reconsider the final installment of funds, about $103 million, while Berger has called on House leaders to release the money.
“We’ve agreed to move the discussion of whether or not the House is going to honor the agreement they made in 2023 to the full budget discussion,” Berger said Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, Hall told reporters that progress had been made on negotiating children’s hospital funding.
“It’s not resolved yet,” Hall said. “I think there’s some questions about how much more money it’s going to need exactly in order to be a viable project. And so, you know, those discussions continue.”
Those budget negotiations are ongoing, but Berger said recent conversations have given him reason to be optimistic. “We’re having conversations,” he said. “They are substantive. They haven’t gotten us to an agreement yet, but we are continuing to talk, continuing to exchange ideas,” Berger said.
Hall described budget talks similarly: “The trajectory is good [enough] to where we’re very likely to get a budget done, hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Berger said that, in the final months of his term, he wants to focus on policies that make North Carolina a top destination for businesses.
“I’d like to continue the progress that we’ve made over the years in making North Carolina number one state for business and making North Carolina a competitive state in terms of our tax climate and our regulatory climate,” Berger said, adding that he wants to boost education funding as well.
Addressing property taxes
House and Senate Republicans are also offering separate proposals for limiting property taxes in North Carolina.
House Republicans are pursuing a constitutional amendment that would give the state more control over how much cities and counties can raise property taxes. On Tuesday, Berger said he doesn’t think there’s a consensus on the proposed amendment and noted that it would take several months to enact into law. Voters must approve constitutional amendments at the polls in order for them to become law.
“It’s a start that we can look at,” Berger said of the proposed constitutional amendment. “But that, by itself, would not actually go into effect until after the voters approve it, if they approve it, and then the legislature actually passes some sort of legislation.”
Berger said he plans to introduce a bill that freezes municipal property tax revaluations for 12 months while legislators study the issue further.
“We’ve got to do something,” Berger said. “I just don’t know that there’s consensus as to what that something is.
“The best thing that we can do at this point is just call a timeout and give the legislature an opportunity to try to review whatever proposals might be out there.”
North Carolina
Former staffer claims sexual harassment in ethics complaint against NC insurance commissioner
A Forsyth County woman has filed an ethics complaint against North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, alleging that the official sent her what she called inappropriate text messages for years while she worked in the Department of Insurance.
Causey, meanwhile, says he would welcome an investigation into the allegations, telling WRAL News in an interview this week: “The truth will come out.”
Former regulatory analyst April Taylor filed the complaint last week with the State Ethics Commission. The DOI said Wednesday it has received a copy of the complaint.
Taylor is alleging sexual harassment. She also claims Causey campaigned on state time and misused a state vehicle.
Taylor alleged last month that Causey sent her a series of inappropriate text messages during her nine years at the department. She made the allegations in an article published by The News & Observer.
On Wednesday, Taylor shared images of the text messages with WRAL. She characterized her relationship with Causey as “friendly,” citing family ties dating back before she worked there. But the messages reflect a more complicated dynamic.
“Just don’t let me catch you in the room alone,” reads one message.
“I might jump your bones. Watch out!!!” reads another.
The messages made her uncomfortable, she told WRAL News, adding: “At the time, I didn’t know how to respond.”
Taylor told state investigators that she has many more text messages and screenshots to prove Causey was campaigning on state time while at a department office in Archdale. She also said Causey used a state vehicle for personal use, including to attend her great-aunt’s wedding in 2025.
“Although Causey and I had a friendship,” Taylor said in her filing, “he crossed the line many times, leaving me feeling uncomfortable and violated.”
She said she first attempted to raise the concerns
– unrelated to the text messages
– about Causey to the Office of the State Auditor, related to his official capacity as the state’s Insurance Commissioner. She alleged that the auditor’s office expressed little interest in investigating. A spokesperson for State Auditor Dave Boliek challenged her narrative, saying her complaint “draws incorrect conclusions.”
In her complaint, Taylor said: “I am willing to take a polygraph exam and testify before legislatures. Evidence will be furnished upon request.”
In her role as an analyst at the department, Taylor’s job led to frequent communication with Causey.
Taylor, who resides between Greensboro and Winston-Salem, allowed WRAL to read through text messages exchanged with Causey over the years.
Much of the communication observed appeared friendly or work-related. But Taylor says some texts went too far – particularly those that commented on her appearance.
WRAL asked Causey about Taylor’s allegations. He declined to comment, saying it was a personnel matter. He added that he was open to an investigation into the initial allegations.
“We want to make sure everything is clear and transparent,” Causey said, “because we certainly have nothing to hide to the public, to the lawmakers, or to any of my fellow elected officials.”
Causey acknowledged to the N&O that he sent work-related texts to Taylor. But he told the newspaper that he didn’t recall sending comments related to her appearance. Taylor disputes that.
“Throughout the years, I thought they were inappropriate,” Taylor said. “I felt uncomfortable. I responded with laughing emojis because I didn’t know how to respond. What am I supposed to do, respond with mad faces? He may look at it as a form of rejection.”
Taylor said she was in an appointed position. “He could have let me go for any reason,” she said.
Asked why she didn’t push back against the messages, Taylor said: “I just didn’t want to make the situation uncomfortable. Just wanted to laugh it off.”
Several messages sent by Taylor to Causey were flattering in nature, including heart and smiling emojis, as well as references to Causey as a “handsome” man. “I felt the laughing emoji was my way of trying to shut it down,” she said.
A spokesperson for the department declined to comment on the allegations.
“Commissioner Causey and NCDOI will fully comply with any requests by the N.C. State Ethics Commission regarding this or any other matter,” Barry Smith a DOI spokesman, said in a statement.
North Carolina
‘Bonsai in the Blue Ridge’ exhibit brings dozens of displays to North Carolina Arboretum
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Arboretum will host a bonanza of bonsai this week with “Bonsai in the Blue Ridge,” a limited-time exhibition of more than 50 living sculptures as part of the American Bonsai Society’s Learning Seminar 2026.
Between June 4-7, arboretum visitors can explore the exhibits for a $5 admission fee, along with the arboretum’s regular parking fee. A press release from the arboretum said there will also be opportunities to register for seminars, workshops and tours led by bonsai artists for an additional cost.
GROWING YOUR GARDEN? PLENTY OF PLANTS FOR PURCHASE AT THE ARBORETUM’S SPRING SALE
“The American Bonsai Society brings together people who share a passion for bonsai. Through world-class publications and events such as the Learning Seminars, ABS promotes and educates, sharing techniques that showcase North American artistic expression and encouraging the use of plant species that grow well in the United States, Canada, and Mexico,” ABS Convention Chair Scott Barboza said in a written statement.
FILE IMAGE of a bonsai plant that is part of the North Carolina Arboretum’s Bonsai Exhibition Garden. (Photo: North Carolina Arboretum)
Bonsai is the ancient art of shaping trees over time to create miniature living sculptures. The North Carolina Arboretum is no stranger to the art, having established the Bonsai Exhibition Garden in 2005, which showcases up to 50 specimens of traditional Asian bonsai subjects, tropical plants, American species and plants native to the Blue Ridge region.
IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL ASHEVILLE STAGES FLORAL DESIGN EXHIBITION AT NC ARBORETUM
“Bonsai in the Blue Ridge” takes place 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 4, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6, and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 7.
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See a full schedule of events for this week’s seminar at americanbonsaisociety.org.
The Greenville Police Department joined community leaders in Pitt County this week to promote safe firearm storage as part of North Carolina’s annual NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action, the Greenville Police Department said.
In a statement, the Greenville Police Department thanked NC S.A.F.E. and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the opportunity to help educate residents about responsible firearm storage practices.
We want to thank NC S.A.F.E. and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for allowing us to help relay to the community the importance of safely securing firearms so that we can avoid tragedies in the future!
The local event follows Gov. Josh Stein’s proclamation recognizing June 1-7 as NC S.A.F.E. Week of Action.
According to Gov. Stein’s office, the campaign aims to encourage gun owners to securely store firearms and make safety resources more widely available across North Carolina.
An unlocked gun is a tragedy waiting to happen, and too often, it does,” said Governor Josh Stein. “NC S.A.F.E Week is a reminder to all of us about the measures we can all take to keep ourselves and the people we love safe.
Safe firearm storage is one of the simplest steps we can take to prevent tragedies before they happen,” said North Carolina Department of Public Safety Deputy Secretary William Lassiter Lassiter. “NC S.A.F.E. is increasing awareness around secure firearm storage and making safety resources more accessible to help reduce preventable injuries and build safer communities throughout our state.
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