| − | In 1970, Helms left the Democratic party, which was far more popular in the South as a whole, for the Republican party, which had been the catalyst in the war of Northern Aggression a century before. Guided, in part, by the conservative policies of the Republican Candidate, [[Richard M. Nixon]], Mr. Helms lead a victorious campaign against his opponent, Democrat Nick Galifianakis. Mr. Helms's campaign succeeded in associating Galifiankis with presidential candidate George McGovern. Galifianakis attempted to play the "race card" (Galifianakis was Greek), but voters saw through this to lend a 120,000 vote margin to Mr. Helms.<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms</ref> | + | In 1970, Helms left the Democratic party, which was far more popular in the South as a whole, for the Republican party, which had been the catalyst in the war of Northern Aggression a century before. Guided, in part, by the [[Southern Strategy]] of the Republican Candidate, [[Richard M. Nixon]], Mr. Helms lead a victorious campaign against his opponent, Democrat Nick Galifianakis. Mr. Helms's campaign succeeded in associating Galifiankis with presidential candidate George McGovern. Galifianakis attempted to play the "race card" (Galifianakis was Greek), but voters saw through this to lend a 120,000 vote margin to Mr. Helms.<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms</ref> |