Jesse Helms

Jesse Helms (born Oct. 18, 1921, Monroe, N.C., U.S.—died July 4, 2008, Raleigh, N.C.) was an American politician and longtime member of the U.S. Senate (1973–2003), who was a leading figure in the conservative movement. Nicknamed “Senator No,” he was perhaps best known for his vehement opposition to civil rights and gay rights.

Helms, the son of the chief of police in Monroe, N.C., attended Wingate Junior College and Wake Forest College (now Wake Forest University; in Winston-Salem) but abandoned his schooling in 1941. He served as a recruiter for the U.S. Navy (1942–45) before becoming city editor for The Raleigh Times, and from 1948 to 1951 he was program director for the radio station WRAL in Raleigh. He then served as an aide to North Carolina Senators Willis Smith (1951–53) and Alton Lennon (1953). In 1953 he became the executive director of the North Carolina Bankers Association, a position he held until 1960. That year he began working as a political commentator for WRAL, WRAL-TV, and the Tobacco Radio Network.

Originally a Democrat, Helms left the party in 1970. His political transformation was in large part due to his opposition to the Civil Rights Act (1964) that was passed under Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1972 Helms was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican. As senator, he maintained a staunchly conservative stance on social issues, leading crusades against abortion and homosexuality, supporting prayer in public schools, and opposing the busing of students for racial integration. A polarizing political figure, Helms was reelected four times—in 1978, 1984, 1990, and 1996—but never garnered more than 55 percent of the vote. His campaigns were often criticized for their adversarial tone, as when in 1990, while running against Harvey Gantt, an African American candidate, Helms employed what many considered a blatantly racist television ad that attacked affirmative action.

Helms served as the Senate Agriculture Committee chair (1981–87) and as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1995–2000). In the latter position, he supported military governments in Latin America, actively opposed arms control, and fought against nearly all foreign aid programs, claiming that such efforts were analogous to “pouring money down foreign rat holes.” Portrayed by his critics as a demagogue, an extremist, and a bigot—he famously opposed the creation of a national holiday in honour of Martin Luther King, Jr.—Helms nevertheless displayed formidable skills as a politician, utilizing the power of his chairmanship to influence debate on foreign policy issues and to stall the confirmation of Pres. Bill Clinton’s nominees.

Toward the end of his career, Helms was influenced by the activism of rock musician Bono, who encouraged him to reconsider his position on AIDS. Though Helms had in the past opposed federal spending on AIDS in the U.S.—claiming that the disease was a result of homosexual behaviour—in his final year in the Senate he sponsored a bill that provided relief to AIDS victims in Africa, where transmission of the disease occurs largely through heterosexual contact. While his “Old South” opinions on social issues were sometimes problematic even for those in his own party, Helms stood as an influential icon of Republican conservatism.

Helms published Here’s Where I Stand: A Memoir in 2005.