1996 United States Senate election in North Carolina

In the Democratic primary, Gantt defeated Charles Sanders, who was CEO of pharmaceutical company Glaxo. As a candidate, Gantt supported a balanced federal budget, a $10,000 tax deduction for the middle-class, while also pledging to defend Medicare and education funding. ==Republican primary==

Jesse Helms won the Republican Party's nomination unopposed. ==General election==

During the campaign, Helms refused to debate Gantt or appear in public with him, instead choosing to focus his campaign's energy on television advertisements. Helms' campaign ads accused Gantt of being too socially liberal on issues such as gay rights and the death penalty. A major issue in the campaign were proposals for tobacco regulation: Helms accused Gantt of supporting President Bill Clinton's efforts to regulate tobacco use, while Gantt broke with his party to criticize Clinton on the subject. Results Following this election, every senator from the Class II senate seat only served one term until Thom Tillis won re-election in 2020.{{Election box begin ==See also==