1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina

1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina
	November 6, 1990
	November 6, 1990
	County Results ; Helms: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Gantt: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
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 Mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt. Helms won re-election to a fourth term by a slightly wider margin than the close election in 1984.

Helms drew controversy for airing what became known as the "Hands" ad produced by Alex Castellanos. It showed a pair of white hands with the voiceover saying You wanted this job, but because of a law they had to give it to a minority. The ad prompted allegations of racism.[1]

The election received renewed attention in 2020 with the release of ESPN miniseries The Last Dance (TV series), which centered on Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan refusing to endorse Gantt, who was seeking to become the first African-American to represent North Carolina - Michael Jordan's home state - in the United States Senate.[2]

Primaries

Republican primary

1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election[3]
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[3]
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[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Harvey Gantt	273,567	56.89%	+19.37%
	Democratic	Mike Easley	207,283	43.11%	+12.84%
Turnout			480,850

Results

1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate election[3]
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

Footnotes

Bouie, Jamelle. "Apparently, the 'Real Racists' Are… Anti-Racists? - The Nation" – via www.thenation.com.
London, Adam. "'The Last Dance' Recap: Five Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 5, 6 - NESN" – via www.nesn.com.
"North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Bouie, Jamelle. "Apparently, the 'Real Racists' Are… Anti-Racists? - The Nation" – via www.thenation.com.

[2] London, Adam. "'The Last Dance' Recap: Five Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 5, 6 - NESN" – via www.nesn.com.

[SouthNow_46-3] "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.

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Jesse Helms
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Related topics	Christian right Helms–Burton Act National Congressional Club Ronald Reagan Hands (advertisement)
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