“How is it that a state with a reputation for moderation, even progressivism, elects Jesse Helms?”

January 11, 1997, was a frigid Saturday with the sort of clinging cold that stings the ears and numbs the toes. Still, about five thousand citizens of North Carolina gathered outdoors on the wide lawn in front of Broughton High School near downtown Raleigh. They rose to their feet when James Taylor sang “Carolina in My Mind,” then watched as James B. Hunt Jr. took the oath of office as their governor for the fourth time.