Editing Jesse Helms (section)

===1978 re-election campaign===
{{Main|1978 United States Senate election in North Carolina}}

Helms began campaigning for re-election in February 1977, giving himself 15 months by the time of the primaries. While he faced no primary opponent, the Democrats nominated [[North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance|Commissioner of Insurance]] [[John Ingram (politician)|John Ingram]],<ref name="Hodges in Party">{{cite news |first=Wayne |last=King |title=Hodges in Party Runoff to Decide Rival for Helms in North Carolina |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 4, 1978 |page=18 }}</ref> who came from behind in the first round of the primary to win in the run-off. Ingram was known as an eccentric [[populism|populist]] and used low-budget campaigning,<ref>{{cite news |title=Ingram Makes It a Fivesome |author=Maralee Schwartz |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 8, 1990 }}</ref><ref name="Carter's Coattails">{{cite news |first=Howell |last=Raines |author-link=Howell Raines |title=Carter's Coattails Aren't Enough to Uproot Republicans in South |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 9, 1978 |page=24 }}</ref> just as he had in winning the primary.<ref name="Hodges in Party" /><ref name="Close Senate Races">{{cite news |first=Wayne |last=King |title=Close Senate Races Ending in Two States |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 29, 1978 |page=9 }}</ref> He campaigned almost exclusively on the issue of insurance rates and against "fat cats and special interests",<ref name="Close Senate Races" /> in which he included Helms.<ref>{{cite news |first=Wayne |last=King |title=N. Carolina Democrats Seek Rival to Helms Today |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 2, 1978 |page=23 }}</ref> Helms was one of three senators given a 100% rating by the conservative Americans for Constitutional Action for 1977,<ref>{{cite news |title=3 Republican Senators Rated As Perfect by Conservative Unit |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 12, 1978 |page=47 }}</ref> and was ranked fourth-most conservative by others.<ref name="It'll be a yes" /> The [[Democratic National Committee]] targeted Helms, as did President Carter, who visited North Carolina twice on Ingram's behalf.<ref name="Carter's Coattails" />

In June 1978, along with [[Strom Thurmond]], Helms was one of two senators named by an environmental group as part of a congressional "Dirty Dozen" that the group believed should be defeated in their re-election efforts due to their stances on environmental issues; membership on the list was based "primarily on 14 Senate and 19 House votes, including amendments to air and water pollution control laws, strip‐mining controls, auto emissions and water projects".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/05/archives/environmentalists-urge-defeat-of-12-in-congress.html|title=Environmentalists Urge Defeat of 12 in Congress |date=June 5, 1978|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

Over the long campaign, Helms raised $7.5 million, more than twice as much as the second most-expensive nationwide ([[John Tower]]'s in Texas),<ref>{{cite news |first=Warren |last=Weaver |title=Special Interests Spend $60m |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 7, 1978 |page=27 }}</ref> thanks to [[Richard Viguerie]]'s and [[Alex Castellanos]]'s pioneering [[direct mail]] strategies.<ref>Link (2007), p. 193–4</ref> It was estimated that at least $3 million of Helms's contributions were spent on fund-raising.<ref>{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Clymer |author-link=Adam Clymer |title=G.O.P. May Gain Nationally |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 6, 1978 |page=1 }}</ref> Helms easily outspent Ingram several times over, as the latter spent $150,000.<ref>Link (2007), p. 196</ref> Due to a punctured [[lumbar]] [[Intervertebral disc|disc]], Helms was forced to suspend campaigning for six weeks in September and October.<ref name="Link 199">Link (2007), p. 199</ref> In a low-turnout election, Helms received 619,151 votes (54.5 percent) to Ingram's 516,663 (45.5 percent).<ref name="SouthNow 46" /> Celebrating his victory, Helms told his supporters that it was a "victory for the conservative and the free enterprise cause throughout America", adding, "I'm Senator No and I'm glad to be here!"<ref name="Link 199" />