PolitiFinder

1978 North Carolina U.S. Senate Election

North Carolina · 2 candidates · See every 1978 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1978 North Carolina U.S. Senate Election?

Jesse Helms won the 1978 North Carolina U.S. Senate Election. Jesse Helms received 619,151 popular votes (54.51%). The main challenger was John Randolph Ingram (45.49%).

See the full head-to-head between Helms and Ingram

Helms +9.0 pts · won by 102,488 votes
Jesse HelmsRepublicanWINNER54.51%
619,151 votes
John Randolph IngramDemocratic45.49%
516,663 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.