The National Congressional Club (NCC) was a political action committee formed by Tom Ellis in 1973 and controlled by

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ...

, who served as a Republican Senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. The NCC was originally established as the Congressional Club of North Carolina to cover Helms's campaign debt for the Senatorial elections of 1973. It was described as a "vast and sophisticated enterprise." As a political fundraiser, Helms had few rivals. The National Congressional Club, had "computerized lists of hundreds of thousands of contributors" and a "state-of-the-art"

direct-mail Advertising mail, also known as direct mail (by its senders), junk mail (by its recipients), mailshot or admail (North America), letterbox drop or letterboxing (Australia) is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The d ...

operation that raised millions for Helms and other

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidates. Almost seventy percent of its regular contributors were from outside

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 So ...

. Helms's "political organization, the Congressional Club, became remarkably successful at raising millions of dollars and in operating a highly sophisticated, media-driven political machine. The Congressional Club also provided a source of national standing and power for Helms." By 1995, Helms's political action committee was the most successful in raising funds in the United States at that time. It offered Helms a freedom from restraints under which most politicians operated. He did not need the Republican Party to raise money nor did he depend on the media to reach voters. The NCC became known for "what critics called 'attack ads'-television ads that emphasized presumably negative aspects of an opponent's record."

References

Campaign finance in the United States Jesse Helms Conservative organizations in the United States Political machines in the United States {{US-politics-stub