1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina

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.

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%

County results Precinct results 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 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]

Campaign

Republican primary

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

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

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

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

• 1990 United States Senate elections

References

1. London, Adam. "'The Last Dance' Recap: Five Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 5, 6 - NESN" – via www.nesn.com.
2. (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. from the original on September 24, 2023.
5. "Helms Defeats Gantt". The Washington Post. November 7, 1990. from the original on September 25, 2023.

Works cited

• Black, Earl; Black, Merle (2002). The Rise of Southern Republicans. Harvard University Press. ISBN 067400728X.