1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina

The 1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina was held November 3, 1998. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth decided to seek re-election to a second term, but was unseated by Democrat John Edwards, a trial attorney.^[1] As of 2025, this is the last time a Democrat won North Carolina's class 3 Senate seat. Edwards declined to run for reelection in 2004, choosing instead to run for President of the United States. Eventually, he was chosen as the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States by John Kerry. They would lose to incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and Edwards later ran for President in 2008.

1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina

← 1992 November 3, 1998 2004 →

Nominee John Edwards Lauch Faircloth Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,029,237 945,943 Percentage 51.15% 47.01%

County results Edwards:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Faircloth:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Lauch Faircloth Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Edwards Democratic

Republican primary

In the Republican primary, Faircloth easily defeated two minor candidates.^[2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bob Ayers Jr.
• James Carmack
• John Edwards, Raleigh attorney^[3]
• Gene Gay
• D. G. Martin, former vice chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and candidate for U.S. Representative in 1984 and 1986^[3]
• Mike Robinson
• Ella Scarborough, former Charlotte City Council member^[3]

Declined

• Mike Easley, North Carolina Attorney General since 1993^[4]
• Harvey Gantt, former mayor of Charlotte and nominee for Senate in 1990 and 1996^[4]
• Mike Robinson, Davidson County businessman
• Charlie Sanders, former CEO of Glaxo and candidate for Senate in 1996^[4]

Going into the 1998 campaign, several prominent Democrats declined to run for Senate, including Attorney General Mike Easley, former Mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt, and former Glaxo CEO and 1996 Senate candidate Charlie Sanders.^[4]

Results

In the Democratic primary, Edwards defeated his closest rival D.G. Martin, former vice chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The race also featured former Charlotte city councilwoman Ella Scarborough and several minor candidates.^[3]

1998 Democratic U.S. Senate primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Edwards	277,468	51.38%
	Democratic	D. G. Martin	149,049	27.60%
	Democratic	Ella Scarborough	55,486	10.28%
	Democratic	Bob Ayers Jr.	22,477	4.16%
	Democratic	Mike Robinson	20,178	3.74%
	Democratic	James Carmack	8,200	1.52%
	Democratic	Gene Gay	7,173	1.33%
Total votes			540,031	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• John Edwards, Raleigh attorney (Democratic)
• Barbara Howe (Libertarian)
• Lauch Faircloth, incumbent U.S. Senator since 1993 (Republican)

Campaign

During the campaign, Edwards fashioned himself as a "people's advocate", while Faircloth accused Edwards of being too friendly towards labor unions.^[5] Referring to Edwards as a "tobacco-taxing liberal", Faircloth's campaign ran ads alleging that Edwards' position on tobacco regulation would lead to job losses in the state.^[6]

Edwards' campaign refused financial support from political action committees and ran ads criticizing Faircloth's record on Medicare and Social Security.^[7] Edwards' victory was partially attributed by some observers to blowback against the Faircloth campaign's use of negative advertising.^[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Lauch Faircloth (R)	John Edwards (D)	Undecided
Mason Dixon[9]	October 26–28, 1998	827 (LV)	± 3.5%	44%	43%	13%
Mason Dixon[9]	October 11–13, 1998	836 (LV)	± 3.5%	45%	43%	12%
Survey USA[9]	October 9–11, 1998	500 (LV)	± 4.5%	43%	46%	11%
Mason Dixon[9]	September 20–22, 1998	807 (LV)	± 3.5%	50%	40%	10%
Mason Dixon[9]	July 25–27, 1998	829 (LV)	± 3.5%	47%	38%	15%

Results

1998 United States Senate election in North Carolina

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Edwards	1,029,237	51.15%
	Republican	Lauch Faircloth (incumbent)	945,943	47.01%
	Libertarian	Barbara Howe	36,963	1.84%
Total votes			2,012,143	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

See also

• 1998 United States Senate elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear