Jesse Helms election mapapalooza

[RBH]

1972:


1978:


1984:


1990:


1996:


1972: Helms 54, Galifianakis 46
1978: Helms 55, Ingram 45
1984: Helms 52, Hunt 48
1990: Helms 53, Gantt 47
1996: Helms 53, Gantt 46

Here's the map of the total of the five elections. Apologies for the reversed color scheme:



Of the 4/1 counties, the election where they broke from their norm was

1972: Bladen, Hyde, Warren (went R), Rockingham (went D)
1978: Buncombe, Durham, Edgecombe, Guilford (went R), Brunswick, Cleveland, Lincoln, McDowell, Montgomery, Rutherford (went D)
1984: Alleghany, Duplin, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Pender, Sampson, Wilson (went D)
1990: Columbus, Swain, Tyrrell (went R), Dare (went D)
1996: Perquimans (went R)

The counties that went for the Dems three times, but never went for Gantt: Camden, Haywood, Madison, Pamlico, Yancey

5R/0D: 41 counties
4R/1D: 16 counties
3R/2D: 7 counties
2R/3D: 9 counties
1R/4D: 12 counties
0R/5D: 15 counties

The differences between 1984 and 1990

Overall: Helms gained 0.88%, Gantt lost 0.38%

The ten counties where Gantt gained the most:

Mecklenberg - 8.15%
Dare - 5.56%
Watauga - 4.59%
Henderson - 3.44%
Macon - 3.41%
Catawba - 3.11%
Wake - 2.79%
Orange - 2.75%
Cabarrus - 2.71%
Guilford - 2.54%

The only counties flipping on that list are Watauga and Dare.

The ten counties where Helms gained the most:

Martin - 14.18%
Washington - 12.53%
Duplin - 10.86%
Person - 10.76%
Greene - 9.99%
Yancey - 9.69%
Tyrrell - 9.61%
Swain - 9.57%
Rockingham - 9.26%
Beaufort - 8.96%

Hunt won every county listed there except Beaufort, Rockingham, and Person.

[Joe Republic]

Hmm, his margins of victory were never really very high.  I find that very surprising, given his longevity, and his iconic status in NC.

[RBH]

Helms had the advantage of two presidential landslides (Nixon and Reagan), a good midterm year (1978) and facing an African-American opponent twice (Gantt).

And even then, you can tell where his base is, and where his opponent's base was.

[WalterMitty]

im still surprised that helms was able to beat jim hunt in 1984.  that was a very nasty and expensive race.

id like to see a map of the 1990 democrat runoff between harvey gantt and a very, very young mike easley.

[nclib]

Hmm, his margins of victory were never really very high.  I find that very surprising, given his longevity, and his iconic status in NC.

Helms basically divided NC in half. His mediocre margins of victory show that NC is one of the more progressive Southern states.

--

I was surprised that Durham went for Helms in 1978. I don't know the numbers back then, but now it's 50% black and the whites are pretty liberal. Actually, I think it was Kerry's best county in NC.

[RBH]

Hmm, his margins of victory were never really very high.  I find that very surprising, given his longevity, and his iconic status in NC.

Helms basically divided NC in half. His mediocre margins of victory show that NC is one of the more progressive Southern states.

--

I was surprised that Durham went for Helms in 1978. I don't know the numbers back then, but now it's 50% black and the whites are pretty liberal. Actually, I think it was Kerry's best county in NC.

Helms won Durham 51/49, it was pretty narrow

[Ben.]

Hmm, his margins of victory were never really very high.  I find that very surprising, given his longevity, and his iconic status in NC.

A lot like Harkin in IA, neither where good fits for their states ideologically, but both kept/keep winning by competative margins despite this and have a significant "personal vote".