1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1990 United States Senate election in North Carolina
| country = North Carolina
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1984 United States Senate election in North Carolina
| previous_year = 1984
| next_election = 1996 United States Senate election in North Carolina
| next_year = 1996
| election_date = November 6, 1990
| flag_year = 1885
| image_size = 125x136px
| image1 = JesseHelmsCropped.png
| nominee1 = Jesse Helms
| party1 = Republican Party (United States)
| popular_vote1 = 1,089,012
| percentage1 = 52.58%
| image2 = Harvey Gantt (Taps 1965).png
| nominee2 = Harvey Gantt
| party2 = Democratic Party (United States)
| popular_vote2 = 981,573
| percentage2 = 47.39%
| map_image = {{switcher |325px |County results |325px |Precinct results |default=1}}
| map_size = 325px
| map_caption = Helms: {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}} {{legend0|#d75d5d|60–70%}} {{legend0|#d72f30|70–80%}} {{legend0|#C21B18|80–90%}} {{legend0|#A80000|>90%}}
Gantt: {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}} {{legend0|#3933e5|80–90%}} {{legend0|#0D0596|>90%}}
Tie: {{legend0|#d2b1d9|40–50%}} {{legend0|#ae8bb1|50%}}
| title = U.S. Senator
| before_election = Jesse Helms
| before_party = Republican Party (United States)
| after_election = Jesse Helms
| after_party = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Elections 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.
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.{{cite web|url=https://nesn.com/2020/05/the-last-dance-recap-five-biggest-takeaways-from-episodes-5-6/|title='The Last Dance' Recap: Five Biggest Takeaways From Episodes 5, 6 - NESN|first=Adam|last=London|via=www.nesn.com}}
Primaries
=Republican primary =
{{Election box begin
| title = 1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican primary election}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Jesse Helms (Incumbent)
| votes = 157,345
| percentage = 84.32%
| change = -6.33%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = L. C. Nixon
| votes = 15,355
| percentage = 8.23%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = George Wimbish
| votes = 13,895
| percentage = 7.45%
| change = -1.90%
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 186,595
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box end}}
=Democratic primary =
{{Election box begin
| title = 1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – First round}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Harvey Gantt
| votes = 260,179
| percentage = 37.52%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Mike Easley
| votes = 209,934
| percentage = 30.27%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = John Ingram
| votes = 120,990
| percentage = 17.45%
| change = -8.78%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = R. P. Thomas
| votes = 82,883
| percentage = 11.95%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Lloyd Gardner
| votes = 11,528
| percentage = 1.66%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Robert Hannan
| votes = 7,982
| percentage = 1.15%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 693,496
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin
| title = 1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic primary election – Second round}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Harvey Gantt
| votes = 273,567
| percentage = 56.89%
| change = +19.37%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Mike Easley
| votes = 207,283
| percentage = 43.11%
| change = +12.84%
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 480,850
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box end}}
General election
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.{{sfn|Black|Black|2002|p=103-109}} 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".{{Cite news |date=September 10, 2012 |title=Political Pro With Race-Baiting Past Doesn't See It In Romney's Welfare Charge |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/09/10/160885683/political-pro-with-race-baiting-past-doesnt-see-it-in-romneys-welfare-charge |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924042131/https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/09/10/160885683/political-pro-with-race-baiting-past-doesnt-see-it-in-romneys-welfare-charge |archive-date=September 24, 2023}}
60% of white voters supported Helms while 94% of black voters supported Gantt.{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1990 |title=Helms Defeats Gantt |work=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/11/07/helms-defeats-gantt/7c710262-58fa-4eb9-9666-e2ce7f5ef266/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925143854/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/11/07/helms-defeats-gantt/7c710262-58fa-4eb9-9666-e2ce7f5ef266/ |archive-date=September 25, 2023}}
=Results=
{{Election box begin
| title = 1990 North Carolina U.S. Senate election{{cite web | title = North Carolina DataNet #46 | url = http://southnow.org/southnow-publications/nc-datanet/DataNet%20April08.pdf | date = April 2008 | publisher = University of North Carolina | access-date = June 12, 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080725034758/http://southnow.org/southnow-publications/nc-datanet/DataNet%20April08.pdf | archive-date = July 25, 2008 | df = mdy-all }}}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = Jesse Helms (Incumbent)
| votes = 1,089,012
| percentage = 52.58%
| change = +0.92%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Harvey Gantt
| votes = 981,573
| percentage = 47.39%
| change = -0.42%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Socialist Workers Party (United States)
| candidate = Rich Stuart
| votes = 681
| percentage = 0.03%
| change = -0.08%
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 2,071,266
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
|winner = Republican Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{cite book|last1=Black |first1=Earl |author-link1=Earl Black (political scientist) |last2=Black |first2=Merle |author-link2=Merle Black |title=The Rise of Southern Republicans |publisher=Harvard University Press |date=2002 |url=https://archive.org/details/riseofsouthernre00earl_0 |isbn=067400728X}}
{{United States elections, 1990}}
{{United States Senate elections}}
{{North Carolina elections}}
{{Jesse Helms}}