Jonathan Karl: Helms built North Carolina GOP

Jonathan Karl

CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl takes a look at Sen. Jesse Helms' impact on North Carolina and national politics, and at who is likely to seek his seat after he retires.

Q. How significant is Jesse Helms' expected retirement for North Carolina politics?

A. Jesse Helms, more than any one person, built the Republican Party in North Carolina. He was the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from the state in the 20th century. He literally has been the giant in Republican politics in this state, overshadowing all other political figures. Nobody even comes close. His expected retirement is a major shift in North Carolina politics, and it raises the possibility of a new generation of Republican leaders coming to the front.

Q. The senator's health has been something of an issue over the past few years. Is that the only reason for his expected retirement?

A. Helms would be 81 on Election Day. Clearly, that was a factor. But he has also said that this would be a decision by his wife, Dorothy. And Mrs. Helms has made no secret of the fact that she did not want to see him run for the Senate again. She wanted him back home with the family. Also, Helms gets around the Senate on a motor scooter because of knee surgery and a nerve condition in his feet. The prospect of him running around the state for a campaign would have been complicated by his condition.

Ironically, Helms probably would have faced less opposition than in any of his last several races. This time around, all of the major Democrats -- former Gov. Jim Hunt and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, for example -- have bowed out of the race, leaving a fairly thin Democratic field.

Q. Who are some likely contenders for the 2002 race?

A. There's a lot of attention being paid right now to Elizabeth Dole. She is seriously considering a run, and there is an active "draft Elizabeth Dole" movement on the ground here. She is the candidate that national GOP officials are excited about, and they are doing everything they can to encourage her. You've got a potentially crowded field here. You've got three other Republicans with significant political bases. One is Richard Vinroot, the former mayor of Charlotte who has run and lost races for governor. Two, you have Lauch Faircloth, the former U.S. senator who lost his re-election bid to Democrat John Edwards in 1998, and three, there is Richard Burr, a 44-year-old member of Congress who is considered one of the rising Republican stars in North Carolina.

National Republican officials and, in point of fact, many local Republican leaders hope that if Elizabeth Dole decides to run, the others will bow out of the race. But Vinroot and Faircloth have publicly suggested that they would not be deterred from running if Dole decides to run.

One top national Republican official described their job as trying to avoid having "a banana Republican primary" with four Republican candidates slugging it out in a bitter, nasty primary. They very much want to clear the field for Dole.

The only major Democrat who is in the race right now is Elaine Marshall, the secretary of state. She obviously has won statewide office, and she beat NASCAR hero Richard Petty for that job. She announced her candidacy less than a month ago. There has been renewed speculation that former Gov. Jim Hunt could be convinced to run for the seat. There are Democrats in North Carolina who are actively encouraging Hunt to run. Hunt, like Jesse Helms for Republicans, has been the dominant figure down here for Democrats. If he were to jump into the race, that would change the dynamics, but he has said he will not run.

Q. What has Helms' influence been on the national stage?

A. Helms has had a tremendous influence in a number of areas. First of all, on virtually all of the hot button social issues -- flag burning, abortion, gun control, gay rights, funding for the arts -- Jesse Helms has been, if not the central figure, one of the central figures. As such, he has helped both Republicans and Democrats raise more money than just about anybody else. Jesse Helms has been a fixture of Democratic fund-raising efforts. They use him as their bogeyman, their symbol of what they oppose, and, at the same time, he's had an intensely loyal conservative following, probably second only to Ronald Reagan.

Probably his greatest impact has been on foreign policy as one of the most fervent cold war warrior of his time and, ultimately, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the first senator to address the U.N. Security Council. He orchestrated the deal under which the U.S. would pay its dues owned to the U.N. in exchange for reforms at the U.N. He also earlier this year took the Foreign Relations Committee to Mexico -- the first time the committee held a hearing in a country other than the United States. Those two points are significant because Helms had been the most vocal critic of the United Nations, and he certainly had been very critical of Mexico for its handling of the war on drugs.

One major legislative achievement was the 1996 Helms-Burton act, which tightened the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba.

Many conservatives also say that perhaps Helms' most important policy move came in 1976, when he supported Ronald Reagan's campaign against Gerald Ford in the Republican primaries. Helms defied his party leaders and not only endorsed Reagan, but helped Reagan win his first primary in North Carolina. Before Reagan won in North Carolina, he had lost four previous primaries and was not considered much of a factor at all. After he won, his campaign was energized and he went on to win several primaries, giving Ford a run and setting the stage for victory four years later.