In some alternative universe somewhere, North Carolinians and the entire nation are mourning the loss of former Senator Dean Smith (D-NC), the conscience of the Senate and the most prominent exponent of Southern liberalism. The legendary UNC basketball coach was outspoken in his political views and would have made a fine candidate for U.S. Senate. In fact, most people don’t know that Smith was the target of intense recruitment efforts on behalf of Democrats in the lead-up to the 1990 Senate race against Jesse Helms.

Smith passed up on that opportunity, and it’s difficult to say how seriously he explored it as an option. At the time, Helms was considered practically invincible, politically. Not because he was a wildly popular figure, but because despite the polarized feelings he provoked, he had managed to defeat that Democratic titan, Jim Hunt – Jim Hunt! – in 1984. Prominent Democrats were certain that a bid against Helms, however promising it looked initially, would end up with their being mangled in the Congressional Club’s campaign machine, their personal and political images torn apart, just as Hunt’s had been.

It’s no wonder, then, that the biggest name Democrats were queasy about a potential campaign, and that the party ended up with two not-exactly-top-tier candidates: Harvey Gantt, a black former mayor of Charlotte who lost a reelection bid, and Mike Easley, District Attorney for the Southeastern District and someone who was more than likely only running to build name recognition for a future bid for higher office.

What would have happened if Smith decided to step into the ring? He almost certainly would have won the Democratic nomination. He was much too respected throughout the state to lose and would have been able to count on the votes of Carolina graduates everywhere. In the general, he would probably have run as an avowed liberal; ironically, this would have likely been a better strategy than the wishy-washy moderate one employed by Hunt in 1984. But like Gantt in actuality, it would have left him vulnerable to attacks from the Helms machine. By the time the race was over, most North Carolinians would have viewed Smith as a stellar coach but a kooky liberal off the court. I think he would have lost, narrowly.

For progressive Democrats, Smith’s refusal to enter the political campaign fray was a loss for the state. As a politician, Smith would have been something like a Jesse Helms in reverse: you might not have always agreed with him, but you always knew where he stood. On integration, on the death penalty (he once called Jim Hunt a “murderer” for supporting it and said it made him and everyone else murderers too), on nuclear proliferation, on gay rights – Dean Smith was a liberal warrior and his Senate career would have reflected that. Conservatives – even those who are Duke and NCSU fans – are probably glad he stuck with coaching instead of legislating.

John Wynne

John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.