Midterm Congressional Elections

As a former resident of North Carolina, I must take issue with your portrayal of Sen. Jesse Helms as a human anachronism, the representative of “the old South” (Nov. 7). Helms does not differ with Ronald Reagan on any major issue, and let us not forget Reagan was reelected in 1984 by one of the greatest margins of victory in U.S. history.

Someday soon the people of North Carolina will elect a black to represent them in the U.S. Senate. But it will be someone of moderate-to-conservative views that are more representative of the mainstream in North Carolina than Harvey Gantt. And don’t be surprised if North Carolina has its first black U.S. senator sooner than liberal California or New York.

HARRY EISENBERG

Saugus