Who "won" filing day in North Carolina?

It’s just paperwork, but you can turn it into a statement.

My feed yesterday looked like the first day of school. But instead of kids with backpacks on the front porch, the photos were of candidates signing on the dotted line to run for office.

It was, of course, the first day of the filing period for the 2026 elections, and a total of 883 people paid their fee to get on the primary ballot. It’s a fun tradition — heading over to the fairgrounds or your county elections office to fill out the paperwork in person.

It’s also a great opportunity to overthink the optics of it all.

Most of the time, when you file doesn’t actually matter. Unless you’re in some high-drama race, nobody cares whether you showed up at 12:01 p.m. on Day 1 or 11:43 a.m. on the last Friday.

There are a couple of real exceptions. If you’re trying to knock off a major incumbent — think Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page vs. Phil Berger — you absolutely file on the first day and you make a little noise.

If you’re an incumbent trying to head off a primary, same thing. Filing early …