United States Senate election in North Carolina, 1998
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The 1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
U.S. Senator
Lauch Faircloth Duncan McLauchlin "Lauch" Faircloth (born January 14, 1928) is an American politician who served one term as a United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from North Carolina. Before his Senate service, Fairclo ...
decided to seek re-election to a second term, but was unseated by Democrat
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
, a trial attorney. , this is the last time a Democrat won North Carolina’s class 3 Senate seat. Edwards declined to run for reelection in 2004.


Party primaries


Democratic primary

Going into the 1998 campaign, several prominent Democrats declined to run for Senate, including Attorney General Mike Easley, former Mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt, and former
Glaxo GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the tent ...
CEO and 1996 Senate candidate Charlie Sanders. In the Democratic primary, Edwards defeated his closest rival D.G. Martin, former vice chancellor of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
. The race also featured former
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
city councilwoman Ella Scarborough and several minor candidates.


Republican primary

In the Republican primary, Faircloth easily defeated two minor candidates.


General election


Major candidates


Democratic

*
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
, attorney


Republican

*
Lauch Faircloth Duncan McLauchlin "Lauch" Faircloth (born January 14, 1928) is an American politician who served one term as a United States Republican Party, Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from North Carolina. Before his Senate service, Fairclo ...
, incumbent U.S. Senator


Campaign

During the campaign, Edwards fashioned himself as a "people's advocate", while Faircloth accused Edwards of being too friendly towards labor unions. Referring to Edwards as a "tobacco-taxing liberal", Faircloth's campaign ran ads alleging that Edwards' position on
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
regulation would lead to job losses in the state. Edwards' campaign refused financial support from political action committees and ran ads criticizing Faircloth's record on Medicare and
Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
. Edwards' victory was partially attributed by some observers to blowback against the Faircloth campaign's use of negative advertising.


Results


See also

* 1998 United States Senate elections


References

{{John Edwards
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
John Edwards