Dateline: 08/22/01

U.S. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, considered the voice of Republican right-wing conservatives since 1972, announced today that he would not run for reelection when his fifth term expires in 2003.

"I would be 88 if I ran again in 2002 and was elected and lived to finish a sixth term. And this my family and I have decided unanimously that I should not do. And, ladies and gentlemen, I shall not,'' stated Helms in a TV broadcast from the same Raleigh, North Carolina TV station where he presented political commentaries before being elected to the Senate.

In comments to reporters following Helms' announcement, Senate GOP Leader Trent Lott spoke of Helms as the "conscience" of Republicans, commenting, "He stood tall for the things that have made America great."

"No matter what the popular wind, no matter what the circumstances or the cost, Jesse Helms has remained true to the timeless American values he learned as a young boy in Union County, North Carolina, duty honor and country," declared Lott.

Over almost three decades in the Senate, Helms has taken on a wide range of political and social issues ranging from battles against communism, welfare and affirmative action to opposing federal funding of art he considers pornographic.

Liberal politicians consider Helms to be so ultra-conservative, they sometimes use him as a "scarecrow" figure in their campaigns by equating his political leanings to those of their conservatives opponents. 

In a Washington Post story of Aug. 22, William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard called Helm's decision "the end of an era," stating that Helms had "embodied the notion that there was an American conservative movement, a body of politicians and polemicists and grass-roots organizations that most of the time, on most issues, worked together and who had a distinctive take on where the country was and where it should go. I think that movement does not exist anymore and Helms's departure exemplifies that fact."

His staunch opposition to Democratic-led social reform initiatives earned Helms the nickname "Senator No." In his 1990 campaign against black Democrat Harvey Gantt, Helms aired a controversial TV spot in which a white job candidate was turned down in favor of a less-qualified minority applicant. The ad is now considered to have set the standard for powerful mass-media political ads designed to stir and appeal to voters' emotional, rather than rational feelings on issues.

In other campaigns, Helms developed a mass-mailing solicitation approach to fund raising, now widely used by all political parties.

In his most influential committee assignment, Helms served for years on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sitting as its chairman from 1995 until earlier this year. From this committee post, Helms carried out relentless attacks against foreign regimes he considered to be communist or leftist-inspired. A lifelong enemy of Fidel Castro, Helms sponsored the Helms-Burton Act that outlawed U.S. trade with Cuba.

Soon to turn 80, Helms' declining health is suspected of having played a large role in his decision not to seek a sixth 6-year term. Recently prostate cancer and nerve disorder, among other ailments, have forced him to navigate the halls of Congress on an electric scooter.

Earlier this year, another strongly conservative southern Republican senator, Strom Thurmond of South Carolina announced that he would not seek reelection in 2003.

State GOP leaders are pushing hard for North Carolina native Elizabeth Dole to run for Helms Senate seat. Dole, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1999, earlier this year stated she might run for Helms' Senate seat if he decided not to.

North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is the only Democrat to have officially announced her intention to run for Helm's seat.