The Old South vs. the New

• Share

(2 of 2)

Shortly thereafter, a pro-Helms newspaper, the Landmark, published a frontpage article headlined JIM HUNT IS SISSY, PRISSY, GIRLISH AND EFFEMINATE. The article reported a "rumor" that Hunt was the lover of "a pretty young boy—employed by the U.S. State Department." According to the story, Hunt had also employed a "former high-priced call girl." A furious Hunt threatened to sue the Landmark for libel. Helms repudiated the article, and the paper's editor, Bob Windsor, made a public apology.

The latest figures from the Federal Election Commission show that by the end of June, the Helms campaign had raised $8.4 million and spent $8.8 million, while the Hunt organization had collected $5.2 million and spent $3.9 million. The campaign may end up costing $20 million, shattering the record for a U.S. Senate race ($13.6 million in the 1982 California contest in which Republican Pete Wilson beat Jerry Brown). The Raleigh News & Observer reported that about 75% of the Senator's campaign contributions have come from out of state. About 52% of Hunt's funds are from outside North Carolina, according to the Governor's campaign staffers.

Both candidates are currently scrambling for the estimated 10% of the voting population that is undecided. Helms has wooed that group by playing up his ties to President Reagan and linking Hunt to Walter Mondale, who is unpopular in much of North Carolina. New voters may also play a key role. Some 77,000 blacks registered in the past year could be a plus for Hunt. Helms has unabashedly alienated blacks by boasting of his efforts against the creation of a national holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The Moral Majority says it has registered 70,000 white voters in North Carolina who might offset the black voter-registration drive. Each side agrees that the race is just too close to call. Says Helms Press Secretary Claude Allen: "I think it's going to be right down to the wire." —By Jacob V. Lamar Jr. Reported by Joseph N. Boyce/Charlotte