How Gantt fared in North Carolina

How well did Harvey Gantt do?

The former Charlotte mayor twice ran against U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms in high-profile races. If he had won, he might have been where Barack Obama is today. (For that matter, former Gov. Jim Hunt might have been where Bill Clinton was in 1992 if he had beaten Helms.)

With all eyes on the upcoming May 6 primary, the question of how a black candidate for statewide office can fare in North Carolina has come up again.

To better illuminate the discussion, Dome has dug up the results from Gantt's 1990 and 1996 campaigns as well as Hunt's 1984 campaign for comparison.

In 1984, Helms beat Hunt, 51.7 to 47.8 percent, with two third-party candidates taking less than one percent.

In 1990, Helms beat Gantt 52.6 to 47.4 percent, with a negligible third-party candidate.

And in 1996, Helms beat Gantt again, 52.6 to 45.9 percent, with three third-party candidates taking about 1.5 percent.

After the jump, the numbers.

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1984
Jim Hunt, 1,070,488, 47.81 percent
Jesse Helms, 1,156,768, 51.66 percent
Bobb Yates Emory, 9,302, 0.42 percent
Kate Daher, 2,493, 0.11 percent

1990
Harvey Gantt, 981,573, 47.41 percent
Jesse Helms, 1,088,331, 52.56 percent
Rich Stuart, 681, 0.03 percent

1996
Harvey Gantt, 1,173,875, 45.92 percent
Jesse Helms, 1,345,833, 52.64 percent
Ray Ubinger, 25,396, 0.99 percent
J. Victor Pardo, 11,209, 0.44 percent
Karen Kopperud, 143, 0.01 percent