United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1984
Encyclopedia
The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1984 was held on 6 November 1984 as part of the nation-wide elections to the Senate
, and coinciding with the 1984 presidential election
. The election was fought between the Republican
incumbent Jesse Helms
and serving Democratic
Governor
Jim Hunt
. Helms won the election, the most expensive non-presidential election in United States history up to that point, by a margin significantly reduced from that that Helms achieved in 1978
.
connecting Helms to death squad
s 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
.
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.
United States Senate elections, 1984
The 1984 elections to the United States Senate coincided with the landslide re-election of President Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election...
, and coinciding with the 1984 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1984
The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
. The election was fought between the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
and serving Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Governor
Governor of North Carolina
The Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...
Jim Hunt
Jim Hunt
James Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician who was the 69th and 71st Governor of the state of North Carolina . He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.-Early life:...
. Helms won the election, the most expensive non-presidential election in United States history up to that point, by a margin significantly reduced from that that Helms achieved in 1978
United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1978
The North Carolina United States Senate election of 1978 was held on 7 November 1978 as part of the nation-wide elections to the Senate. The general election was fought between the Republican incumbent Jesse Helms and the Democrat nominee John Ingram. Helms won re-election, by a slightly wider...
.
Republican primary
Democratic primary
Campaign
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. However, that was changed by the most bitterly-contested election in the country that year, Hunt ran an campaign adCampaign advertising
'In politics, campaign advertising is the use of an advertising campaign through newspapers, radio commercials, television commercials, etc.) to influence the decisions made for and by groups. These ads are designed by political consultants and the political campaign staff...
connecting Helms to death squad
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
s in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
through his association with the Nationalist Republican Alliance
Nationalist Republican Alliance
The Nationalist Republican Alliance is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was founded on September 30, 1981, by Roberto D'Aubuisson, in order to oppose the reformist military junta that was ruling El Salvador at the time...
, for whom Roberto d'Aubuisson
Roberto D'Aubuisson
Major Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta was the Salvadoran Army officer and political leader who founded the Nationalist Republican Alliance , which he led from 1980 to 1985...
had recently run for the President of El Salvador
President of El Salvador
This page contains a list of Presidents of El Salvador.-Heads of State of El Salvador within the Federal Republic of Central America :*Pedro Barriere : 21 September 1821 - 28 November 1821*José Matías Delgado : 28 Nov 1821 - 9 February 1823...
.
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.