Helms Weighs Reelection Bid
Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) said Saturday he will announce by September whether he will run for reelection next year.
Helms told about 400 people attending the state Republican Party convention that he and his wife, Dot, will decide together whether he’ll run again in 2002. An announcement by the fall should give fellow Republicans enough time to put together a campaign if he decides against trying for a sixth term, he said.
But “I ain’t saying I ain’t running yet,” Helms said after the audience clapped for several minutes, chanting “Run, Jesse, run.”
Helms, 79, has served in the Senate since 1973. He has been battling ailments that have raised questions about whether he will be able to run again next year.
He sat in a leather armchair during a question-and-answer session Saturday and appeared to walk surely, if slowly, with a cane.
Helms often uses a motorized scooter on Capitol Hill.
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