THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408060196
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Sen. Jesse Helms, whose conservative politics were once synonymous with those of the National Congressional Club, formally divorced his fund-raising powerhouse Friday.
Helms, R-N.C., replaced longtime Helms for Senate Committee treasurer Elizabeth Smith, who reported directly to the club, with Rocky Mount businessman Jack Bailey, 63.
``Senator Helms told me, when he asked me to serve as treasurer, that he wanted his future committee to go back to being an organization of private citizens and supporters, the way it was initially intended,'' Bailey said in a prepared statement.
Those directly involved refused to discuss any other factors leading to the split.
The statement said Helms' Senate committee would move to a new headquarters and would no longer be associated with the Raleigh-based political action committee.
Helms did not immediately return a call to his Washington office.
The club, now called the National Conservative Club, was organized in 1973 to retire the debt from Helms' first U.S. Senate campaign in 1972.
Since then, it has reflected his views while mastering the art of direct-mail politics, raising $33 million in the 1980s and helping Helms get elected to the Senate three more times.
A source said Helms had been angered by a series of recent events, including a mailing he didn't approve and the club's refusal to give its mailing list to his wife for a school fund-raiser.
Others said Helms was disappointed that the club and chief organizers Tom Ellis and Carter Wrenn were making money from people who couldn't afford to give.
``This (parting) was by mutual agreement,'' said Wrenn, the club's executive director. ``I certainly don't have any hard feelings.''
Wrenn said the club would concentrate on electing a GOP president in two years and would help Helms, if asked, should the 72-year-old senator decides to run again in 1996.
Some political observers said Helms is left with a gap in his campaign just two years from another election.
``I would worry for Helms going into a statewide election without Carter and Tom being a part of his campaign,'' said state GOP chairman Jack Hawke.
``Jesse has never been a political activist,'' Hawke added. ``He's always been interested in philosophy and ideas.
``He's more interested in setting a philosophical course for the nation. I think this creates a real void in the Helms political machine in that he hasn't taken a personal interest in bare politics.''
The split probably won't doom the fund-raising giant, but it does raise questions about the group's ability to raise money without its conservative champion, some observers said.
``Will this public break hurt the Conservative Club because a lot of people gave money because they were giving money to Jesse?'' asked Thad Beyle, a political analyst at the University of North Carolina. ``Will there be little old ladies in California, Arizona and Florida who won't give money anymore?''
It's a fair question, but Wrenn said he believes the club will remain sound. by CNB