News
Brett Kappel was quoted in a recent article published by The News & Observer on the use of legal defense funds to pay for recount litigation
In an article titled “Amid undecided GOP primary, NC Senate leader Phil Berger creates legal fund”, written by Kyle Ingram and published on March 10, 2026, by The News & Observer, Brett Kappel analyzes the potential implications of a recent bill, aimed at concealing the identity of donors to nonprofits, on Senate Leader Phil Berger’s new legal fund. Historically, similar legal funds have been created to pay for litigation challenging the results of an election. The race between Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page remains undecided at the time of this publication with the vote counts being too close to call.
Two days after the primary election, filings with the IRS show the “Phil Berger Legal Expense Fund” was created on March 5th, 2026, and the fund is allowed to “…draw donations nationwide without the same limits as regular campaign finance committees-.” Passed in 2025, “The bill, called the Personal Privacy Protection Act, prohibits the disclosure of donors to nonprofit organizations.” However, Kappel explains “…that the bill’s disclosure prohibition would not appear to apply to Berger’s fund, since it was established as a 527 political organization rather than a traditional nonprofit.”