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That night Helms and James Hunt, 47, the Democrat who hopes to wrest away his seat, met in the second of four scheduled television debates. It was a battle of the Old South vs. the New. Hunt is North Carolina's popular, two-term Governor, an earnest, mild-mannered and moderate Democrat. He favors voluntary school prayer and a sustained military buildup, but supports civil rights and a woman's right to abortion. As Governor he has attracted $13 billion in new business investment, added 207,000 new jobs and raised educational standards through a series of reforms...
...Helms-Hunt battle is this year's most ferociously contested Senate race. A year ago a poll rated Hunt 19 points ahead of Helms. Recent polls, however, show the candidates in a virtual dead heat. If Helms triumphs and Senator Charles Percy loses his re-election bid, Helms could succeed the Illinois Republican as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a scenario that distresses liberals and moderates. A victory might even make Helms a presidential prospect in 1988. For Hunt, a victory could result in his being anointed as leader of the progressive South...
With the stakes so high, the contest has developed into an uncommonly vicious, gloves-off slugfest. The Hunt organization early this summer ran a television advertisement linking Helms to the right-wing death squads in El Salvador. The commercial opened with the sound of gunfire and photos of massacred Salvadoran citizens. A picture of Salvadoran Roberto d'Aubuisson appeared, and a narrator identified him as "the man accused of directing those death squads." A picture of Helms then appeared, and the narrator said, "This is the man whose aides helped D'Aubuisson set up his political party...
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...
...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...