Background

• Jesse Helms attended Wingate Junior College (now Wingate University) and Wake Forest University but did not graduate. He received honorary degrees from several universities.
• Helms entered into journalism and radio and television broadcasting. He was elected to the US Senate in 1972 and served 5 terms.
• Helms developed multi-infarct dementia and died on 04 July 2008.
• He and his wife, Dot, had 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

Professional Positions

• After leaving university, Helms became a sports journalist for the local paper in Raleigh, North Carolina. There he met and married Dorothy Coble, who was also a reporter.
• Helms was a US Navy recruiter during WWII. After the war, Helms became the city news editor of the Raleigh Times before moving into radio and TV broadcasting.
• 1950-1951: Helms, then a conservative democrat, joined the campaign of Senate candidate Willis Smith. As a researcher, Helms helped to defeat Smith's opponent with pro-segregation messages. Following Smith's successful campaign. After winning the election, Senator Smith hired Helms as his administrative assistant in Washington, D.C.
• 1952-1953: He worked on presidential campaign of Democrat Georgia Senator Richard Russell.
• 1953-1960: Helms became executive director of the North Carolina Bankers Association in 1953 and joined the Capitol Broadcasting Company in 1960. He was the executive vice-president, vice chairman of the board, and assistant chief executive officer. During this time, Helms wrote many controversial editorials that highlighted his racist views and extreme conservatism. They also made him popular among conservative voters, who voted him onto the Raleigh City Council in 1957. He served for four years.
• 1972-2003: Helms was elected to the US Senate and served 5 terms. His campaign slogan was "Vote for Helms—He's One of Us!" alluding to his opponent's ethnicity. He was a consistent supporter of the tobacco industry, while he opposed the MLK holiday bill and racial integration. He thought abortion was equivalent to Holocaust and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Accomplishments

Criticism

Additional Information

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