THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250358
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 42 lines
Republican Sen. Jesse Helms holds a 48 percent to 42 percent lead in North Carolina over Democrat Harvey Gantt in their second race for the U.S. Senate seat Helms has held since 1972, a Mason-Dixon poll showed Wednesday.
``Not surprisingly, this election is dividing voters sharply along racial lines,'' said Brad Coker, an executive senior analyst with Mason-Dixon.
``Black voters almost universally support Gantt, 94 percent to 1 percent. Helms, on the other hand, leads by a margin of almost 2 to 1 among whites - 59 percent to 30 percent,'' Coker said. Gantt is black, Helms white.
Coker said there is also a gender gap between the candidates.
``Women are narrowly supporting Gantt, 44 percent to 43 percent, and men are more strongly backing Helms, 53 percent to 40 percent,'' Coker said.
A similar gender tilt was noted earlier this week when Mason-Dixon released a survey of how North Carolina voters viewed Sen. Bob Dole and President Clinton in their White House race.
More men favored Dole and more women favored Clinton, the Mason-Dixon poll showed.
In 1960, when Gantt first challenged Helms, Helms won, 52 percent to 47 percent.
Northeastern North Carolina is one of the more rural areas of the state that strongly support Helms. Gantt leads narrowly in Charlotte and in the Raleigh-Durham area.
Helms' name recognition - a measure of political strength - has been remarkably steady throughout the past six years of his latest term in the Senate.
In February 1990 Helms was viewed favorably by 43 percent of those polled. This month, Helms was still viewed favorably by 43 percent.
The Mason-Dixon poll was conducted in July with a sampling of 812 registered voters in North Carolina. All said they regularly voted in elections, Coker said.
``The margin for error for the poll is no more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points,'' Coker said.
Men numbered 399 and women 413 in the sampling, Coker said. Whites numbered 641; blacks, 169; ``others,'' 2. by CNB