1986 United States Senate elections in North Carolina

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1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina
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November 4, 1986
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  Terry Sanford.jpg James Broyhill (cropped).jpg
Nominee Terry Sanford Jim Broyhill
Party Democratic Republican
Regular election823,662
51.76%		767,668
48.24%
Special election780,967
50.88%		753,881
49.12%
1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina results by county map.svg
1986 United States Senate special election in North Carolina results map by county.svg
Sanford:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Broyhill:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
U.S. senator before election

Jim Broyhill
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Terry Sanford
Democratic

The 1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held on November 4, 1986 as part of the nationwide elections to the Senate. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Broyhill, who had been appointed in June 1986 to serve out the rest of John Porter East's term, faced off against the popular Democratic former Governor Terry Sanford.

Contents

There were two separate elections held on the same day: a special election for what little remained of the 99th United States Congress (November 1986-January 1987) and a regular election for a new six-year term (beginning in January 1987). [1] The primary elections were designed to nominate the same candidates to both the special and the regular elections. Sanford won both elections.

Democratic primary

Terry Sanford, then the outgoing president of Duke University, first said in September 1985 that he was planning to run for the U.S. Senate the next year but quickly withdrew, as it appeared that the party wanted a "fresh" face, most likely in the person of UNC System President William Friday. [2] Then, Friday declined to run, as did other well-known politicians like former Governor Jim Hunt. [3]

Former North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Lauch Faircloth then made it known that he would run, but he was considered too conservative by many party leaders, who encouraged Sanford to enter the race in order to defeat Faircloth. [2] Sanford agreed to run, which led Faircloth and another candidate, Judge Marvin K. Blount Jr., to withdraw before filing their candidacies. Six years later, Faircloth did run for the Senate against Sanford, but this time as a Republican, in which he was victorious.

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Terry Sanford 409,394 60.25%
Democratic John Ingram 111,55716.42%
Democratic Fountain Odom49,6897.31%
Democratic William Belk33,8214.98%
Democratic Theodore Kinney27,2284.01%
Democratic Betty Wallace17,0012.50%
Democratic Katherine Harper12,9981.91%
Democratic Walt Atkins8,3061.22%
Democratic Others9,4931.40%
Total votes679,487 100.00%

Republican primary

Senator East declined to run for a second term, citing his health. Longtime U.S. Representative Jim Broyhill entered the race with much of the establishment support, but David Funderburk had the backing of the organization of Senator Jesse Helms. [3] Funderburk charged Broyhill with being insufficiently conservative, but in the end, Broyhill won the nomination handily in the May primary. The next month, East committed suicide, and Governor James G. Martin appointed Broyhill to his seat.

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Jim Broyhill 139,570 66.52%
Republican David Funderburk 63,59330.31%
Republican Glenn Miller 6,6623.18%
Total votes148,574 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Results

1986 United States Senate election in North Carolina [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Terry Sanford 823,662 51.76% +2.38%
Republican Jim Broyhill (incumbent)767,66848.24%−1.72%
Total votes1,591,330 100.00% N/A
Democratic gain from Republican

Special election

Candidates

Results

1986 North Carolina U.S. Senate election – Special election [9]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Terry Sanford 780,967 50.88%
Republican Jim Broyhill (incumbent)753,88149.12%
Total votes1,534,875 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

See also

References

  1. ↑ Advisory Opinion of the Federal Election Commission
  2. 1 2 D.G. Martin
  3. 1 2 3 4 "DEMOCRATS' HOPES UP IN CAROLINA SENATE RACE (Published 1986)". The New York Times . January 19, 1986. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Star-News: Senate candidate claims revelations from deity
  5. ↑ The Dispatch
  6. ↑ The Odom Firm
  7. ↑ Newspapers.com: The Daily Tar Heel
  8. 1 2 3 "North Carolina DataNet #46" (PDF). University of North Carolina. April 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2008. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Our Campaigns - NC US Senate - Special Election Race - Nov 04, 1986".
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