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1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina

← 1984 November 6, 1990 1996 →
 
Nominee Jesse Helms Harvey Gantt
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,089,012 981,573
Percentage 52.58% 47.39%

Helms:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Gantt:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%

U.S. senator before election

Jesse Helms
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Jesse Helms
Republican

The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1990 was held on November 6, 1990, as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. The general election was fought between the Republican incumbent Jesse Helms and the Democratic nominee former mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt. Helms won re-election to a fourth term by a slightly wider margin than the close election in 1984.

The election received renewed attention in 2020 with the release of ESPN miniseries The Last Dance, which mentioned Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan refusing to endorse Gantt, who was seeking to become the first African-American to represent North Carolina - Jordan's home state - in the United States Senate.[1]

Primaries

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Republican primary

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1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jesse Helms (Incumbent) 157,345 84.32% −6.33%
Republican L. C. Nixon 15,355 8.23% N/A
Republican George Wimbish 13,895 7.45% −1.90%
Turnout 186,595

Democratic primary

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1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – First round[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harvey Gantt 260,179 37.52% N/A
Democratic Mike Easley 209,934 30.27% N/A
Democratic John Ingram 120,990 17.45% −8.78%
Democratic R. P. Thomas 82,883 11.95% N/A
Democratic Lloyd Gardner 11,528 1.66% N/A
Democratic Robert Hannan 7,982 1.15% N/A
Turnout 693,496
1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – Second round[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Harvey Gantt 273,567 56.89% +19.37%
Democratic Mike Easley 207,283 43.11% +12.84%
Turnout 480,850

General election

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The Helms campaign against black Democratic nominee Harvey Gantt was racially charged, as he focused on messaging of black people taking jobs from white people.[3] He ran an advertisement in which a white person was denied a job due to racial quotas. Carter Wrenn, who was involved in the ad's creation, stated that "We played the race card".[4]

60% of white voters supported Helms while 94% of black voters supported Gantt.[5]

Results

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1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jesse Helms (Incumbent) 1,089,012 52.58% +0.92%
Democratic Harvey Gantt 981,573 47.39% −0.42%
Socialist Workers Rich Stuart 681 0.03% −0.08%
Turnout 2,071,266
Republican hold

See also

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References

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  1. ^ London, Adam. "'The Last Dance' Recap: Five Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 5, 6 - NESN" – via www.nesn.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  3. ^ Black & Black 2002, p. 103-109.
  4. ^ "Political Pro With Race-Baiting Past Doesn't See It In Romney's Welfare Charge". NPR. September 10, 2012. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "Helms Defeats Gantt". The Washington Post. November 7, 1990. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023.

Works cited

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