The National Congressional Club (NCC) was one of the most influential political action committees (PACs) in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Based in North Carolina, this organization promoted conservatism through effective fundraising and attack advertising, which encouraged voter participation and stimulated national financial support. The thesis examines the role of the NCC in advancing conservatism in North Carolina during its peak, specifically in the highly contested and expensive 1984 and 1990 Senate races, both of which received significant media coverage. I argue that the Congressional Club’s strategic use of direct mail in the 1984 Senate race exploited white anxieties by linking the Democratic opponent to civil rights activism. These tactics were then employed again in the 1990 Senate race, utilizing television attack advertising to exploit fears of a changing racial landscape, specifically by challenging the racial identity of the Black Democratic candidate. Through the use of political ephemera, newspapers, and oral history interviews, this thesis contends that the Congressional Club’s electioneering in 1984 and 1990 was an extension of white supremacy.
