The Helms campaign against black Democratic nominee Harvey Gantt was racially charged, as he focused on messaging of black people taking jobs from white people.[3] He ran an advertisement in which a white person was denied a job due to racial quotas. Carter Wrenn, who was involved in the ad's creation, stated that "We played the race card".[4]
60% of white voters supported Helms while 94% of black voters supported Gantt.[5]