Republican NC elections board member resigns days after primary election

Kyle Ingram, The News & Observer on Mar 5, 2026

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Bob Rucho, a Republican member of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, announced his resignation Thursday, just one day after a conservative activist called for his removal for past comments he made about Senate leader Phil Berger’s reelection campaign.

Berger, who faced a tough Republican primary campaign against Rockingham Sheriff Sam Page, is currently fighting to keep his seat after election night results showed him just two votes behind his challenger.

Rucho is a former state senator who Berger appointed to lead influential Senate committees.

The State Board of Elections is holding an emergency meeting at 12:30 p.m. to swear in his replacement, Angela Hawkins, the Republican chair of the Wake County Board of Elections.

“I’m thankful for Bob Rucho’s service on the State Board of Elections,” State Auditor Dave Boliek, who appointed Rucho to the board, said in a statement. “He led on election integrity and helped make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in North Carolina’s elections. This office has high standards for its board members, and Angela Hawkins will continue the good work being done by the State Board. She brings valuable experience, having served as chair of the elections board of North Carolina’s largest county.”

The announcement comes after Margo Ackiss, a conservative activist who supports Page, posted a screenshot of a post Rucho had made in support of Berger and said he “needs to resign or be removed.”

In the Dec. 30 post, Rucho said that Page’s platform “promotes more state government spending.”

“That is exactly what tax and spend democrats promise,” he continued.

Rucho was appointed to the board less than a year ago after Republican lawmakers stripped Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of his control over the board and transferred it to Boliek.

Ballots being counted in Berger-Page race

While in the Senate, Rucho served alongside Berger, who has led the chamber since 2011.

County election officials are now working to count outstanding provisional and absentee ballots in Berger’s race by a Friday deadline.

The race could drag out far longer than that, though.

The losing candidate could request a recount in the race and both men could attempt to challenge ballots that they argue were cast by ineligible voters.

These processes are handled first at the county level, but are likely to come before the State Board of Elections at some point.

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