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 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
November 6, 1990
 
Nominee Jesse Helms Harvey Gantt
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,089,012 981,573
Percentage 52.6% 47.4%
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

Elections in North Carolina
Federal government
U.S. President
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives
State executive
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Governor elections
Attorney General elections
Council of State elections
Secretary of State elections
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State judiciary
Judicial elections
Ballot measures
2012
Amendment 1
Mayoral elections
Charlotte mayoral elections
Cary mayoral elections
Durham mayoral elections
Fayetteville mayoral elections
Greensboro mayoral elections
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Winston-Salem mayoral elections

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, 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.[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
Republican hold

See also

Footnotes
  1. Bouie, Jamelle (2012-07-27). "Apparently, the 'Real Racists' Are… Anti-Racists?". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  2. London, Adam. "'The Last Dance' Recap: Five Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 5, 6 - NESN" – via www.nesn.com.
  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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