1984 United States Senate election in North Carolina
February 15, 2024
The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1984 was held on November 6, 1984 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate, and coinciding with the 1984 presidential election. The election was a showdown between the Republican incumbent Jesse Helms and then-incumbent DemocraticGovernorJim Hunt. This election was one of the most dramatic in 1984. In the end, Helms won the election, the most expensive non-presidential election in United States history up to that point, by a margin significantly reduced from the margin that Helms achieved in 1978.
1984 United States Senate election in North Carolina
Hunt had a commanding lead in opinion polls for much of the campaign, with one poll in 1983 putting him nineteen points clear of Helms.[3] However, that was changed by the most bitterly contested election in the country that year.[3] Hunt ran a campaign ad connecting Helms to death squads in El Salvador through his association with the Nationalist Republican Alliance, for whom Roberto d'Aubuisson had recently run for the President of El Salvador.[3] In the short time before election day, however, the highly popular incumbent US President Ronald Reagan gave Helms a significant boost[4] by campaigning for him and running a local TV ad praising Helms and asking registered voters in North Carolina to re-elect him.[5]
The election cost a total of $26,379,483 in total reported spending (over twelve times as much as the 1980 race), of which, 64% ($16.9m) was spent by Helms.[6]
This election is remembered as "one of North Carolina's most infamous political battles" and "as a prototype of the no-holds-barred brawls that typify a strand of modern-day partisan politics, polarizing voters along distinct ideological lines."[7]
A study by Voters Education Project in Atlanta[who?] showed that Helms received 63 percent of the white vote and was particularly successful in small towns and rural areas, while receiving less than 1 percent of the black vote in 35 almost-all-black precincts.[8] Hunt got 37 percent of the white and 98.8 percent of the black vote, according to VEP. But only 61 percent of registered blacks voted, down from 63 percent in 1980."[8]
^ abBill Peterson (November 18, 1984), "Jesse Helms' Lesson for Washington", The Washington Post, retrieved January 16, 2017
External linksedit
Debates
North Carolina Senate General Election Debate on C-SPAN, July 29, 1984
North Carolina Senate General Election Debate on C-SPAN, September 9, 1984
North Carolina Senate General Election Debate on C-SPAN, October 13, 1984
February 15, 2024
1984, united, states, senate, election, north, carolina, north, carolina, united, states, senate, election, 1984, held, november, 1984, part, nationwide, elections, senate, coinciding, with, 1984, presidential, election, election, showdown, between, republican. The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1984 was held on November 6 1984 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate and coinciding with the 1984 presidential election The election was a showdown between the Republican incumbent Jesse Helms and then incumbent Democratic Governor Jim Hunt This election was one of the most dramatic in 1984 In the end Helms won the election the most expensive non presidential election in United States history up to that point by a margin significantly reduced from the margin that Helms achieved in 1978 1984 United States Senate election in North Carolina 1978 November 6 1984 1990 Nominee Jesse Helms Jim HuntParty Republican DemocraticPopular vote 1 156 768 1 070 488Percentage 51 66 47 81 County results Helms 50 60 60 70 70 80 Hunt 40 50 50 60 60 70 U S senator before electionJesse HelmsRepublican Elected U S Senator Jesse HelmsRepublican Contents 1 Primaries 1 1 Republican primary 1 2 Democratic primary 2 General election 2 1 Campaign 2 2 Results 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPrimaries editRepublican primary edit 1984 North Carolina U S Senate Republican primary election 1 Party Candidate Votes Republican Jesse Helms incumbent 134 675 90 65 Republican George Wimbish 13 799 9 35 Turnout 148 574Democratic primary edit Hunt easily defeated businessman Thomas Allred a supporter of Lyndon Larouche to win the Democratic nomination 2 1984 North Carolina U S Senate Democratic primary election 1 Party Candidate Votes Democratic Jim Hunt 655 429 77 48 Democratic Thomas Allred 126 841 14 99 Democratic Harrill Jones 63 676 7 53 Turnout 845 946General election editCampaign edit Hunt had a commanding lead in opinion polls for much of the campaign with one poll in 1983 putting him nineteen points clear of Helms 3 However that was changed by the most bitterly contested election in the country that year 3 Hunt ran a campaign ad connecting Helms to death squads in El Salvador through his association with the Nationalist Republican Alliance for whom Roberto d Aubuisson had recently run for the President of El Salvador 3 In the short time before election day however the highly popular incumbent US President Ronald Reagan gave Helms a significant boost 4 by campaigning for him and running a local TV ad praising Helms and asking registered voters in North Carolina to re elect him 5 The election cost a total of 26 379 483 in total reported spending over twelve times as much as the 1980 race of which 64 16 9m was spent by Helms 6 This election is remembered as one of North Carolina s most infamous political battles and as a prototype of the no holds barred brawls that typify a strand of modern day partisan politics polarizing voters along distinct ideological lines 7 Results edit 1984 North Carolina U S Senate election 1 Party Candidate Votes Republican Jesse Helms incumbent 1 156 768 51 66 Democratic Jim Hunt 1 070 488 47 81 Libertarian Bobby Emory 9 302 0 42 Socialist Workers Kate Daher 2 493 0 11 Turnout 2 239 051Republican holdA study by Voters Education Project in Atlanta who showed that Helms received 63 percent of the white vote and was particularly successful in small towns and rural areas while receiving less than 1 percent of the black vote in 35 almost all black precincts 8 Hunt got 37 percent of the white and 98 8 percent of the black vote according to VEP But only 61 percent of registered blacks voted down from 63 percent in 1980 8 See also editUnited States Senate elections 1984References edit a b c North Carolina DataNet 46 PDF University of North Carolina April 2008 Archived from the original PDF on July 25 2008 Retrieved June 12 2009 Newspapers com archive a b c Joseph N Boyce Lamar Jacob V September 24 1984 The Old South vs the New Time Archived from the original on October 29 2010 Retrieved June 10 2009 http www unctv org U S permanent dead link Senatorno peopleevents events1 html Ronald Reagan ad for Jesse Helms North Carolina DataNet 25 PDF University of North Carolina Archived from the original PDF on July 25 2008 Retrieved June 12 2009 NCpedia Helms Hunt Senate race a b Bill Peterson November 18 1984 Jesse Helms Lesson for Washington The Washington Post retrieved January 16 2017External links editDebatesNorth Carolina Senate General Election Debate on C SPAN July 29 1984 North Carolina Senate General Election Debate on C SPAN September 9 1984 North Carolina Senate General Election Debate on C SPAN October 13 1984 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1984 United States Senate election in North Carolina amp oldid 1185126605, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
