The North Carolina Senate 26 race is still tight, with Guilford County completing its machine recount and challenger Sam Page leading by 23 votes over incumbent State Sen. Phil Berger. The recount will be held in Rockingham County, which will begin its recounting at 10 A.M. and should finish later in the day. However, there could be a request for a complete hand-to-eye count of all votes, which could require a sampling of polling places based on the sampling results. Elections officials are also investigating four protests filed by incumbent Berger, one filed by Guillford County, one in Guilford County, and three in Rocky. Each board of elections will hold a preliminary hearing on these protests to determine if there is probable cause to move forward. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has denied a request to examine 220 ballot sets.