The last campaign of Jesse Helms
In 1996, the final Senate campaign of Jesse Helms played out across the state of North Carolina. Although Helms was notorious as one of the last leaders of the Old South, he was, in many ways, the father of today’s slash-and-burn, ultra conservative southern Republicans. He was particularly savvy in his exploitation of hardline cultural issues, and he innovated with pinpoint direct mail operations and state-of-the-art media strategies. Through his mastery of legislative obstruction he earned the nickname “Senator NO”.