Republican Sam Page bested Democrat Steve Luking in the race for North Carolina’s 26th Senate District.
Page, the longtime Rockingham County sheriff, made headlines earlier this year when he narrowly defeated Senator Phil Berger in the Republican primary.
Berger has led the state senate since the GOP took control of the chamber in 2011.
At a candidate forum last month, Page painted himself as a disruptor.
“The reason why I ran for Senate is because I disagreed with the Senate leadership and how it was going," he said. "I wanted to run to make sure that you keep money, more money, in your pocket than in that of government. I wanted to change the dynamics.”
Page won with nearly 54% of the vote — roughly matching Berger's share in the last election.