page_title: Terry Sanford
section_title: 1960 campaign and election
hierarchical_section_title: Terry Sanford / Gubernatorial career / 1960 campaign and election
caption_attribution_description: English: From left to right: Terry Sanford, John F. Kennedy, Luther H. Hodges, and an unidentified man
context_page_description: James Terry Sanford was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina, a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator. Sanford was a strong proponent of public education and introduced a number of reforms and new programs in North Carolina's schools and institutions of higher education as the state's governor, increasing funding for education and establishing the North Carolina Fund. From 1969 to 1985, Sanford was President of Duke University.
  An Eagle Scout, Sanford became an FBI agent after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1939. During World War II, he saw combat in the European Theatre and received a battlefield commission. Following his return to civilian life after World War II, Sanford attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and began a legal career in the late 1940s, soon becoming involved in politics. A lifelong Democrat, he was noted for his progressive leadership in civil rights and education, although his opponents criticized him as a "tax-and-spend" liberal.
context_section_description: On February 4, 1960, Sanford declared his candidacy for the office of Governor in Fayetteville. In his announcement and throughout most of the campaign for the Democratic primary election, Sanford focused on the improvement of education and increased economic growth. In competing for the office of governor Sanford faced Democrats North Carolina Attorney General Malcolm Buie Seawell, state legislator John D. Larkins, and law professor I. Beverly Lake, Sr.. Lake declared that preservation of racial segregation and the state's existing social order would be the main theme of his campaign, worrying Sanford, who wished to avoid race becoming a large topic of discussion in the contest. Larkins and Seawell both ran as fiscal conservatives and moderates on issues of race. As Sanford was expected to place first in the initial primary, Larkins and Seawell focused their rhetorical criticisms against him, while Lake drew upon increasing support for his segregationist stances. Sanford resorted to only minor criticisms of his opponents. Voter turnout in the May primary broke all previous records for turnout in state primary elections. Sanford placed first with 269,563 votes, Lake placed second with 181,692 votes, and both Larkins and Seawell earned less than 20 percent of the votes.
  In declaring that he would contest Sanford in the Democratic primary runoff, Lake insisted that he liked Sanford personally but disapproved of his economic and racial policies. He criticized his opponent as a proponent of a "spend and tax" platform and pledged to oppose the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and ensure that schools remained segregated. Feeling he could not afford to be too polite in his response, Sanford countered with unexpected hostility, saying "Let's get this straight right now on the race issue...I have been and will continue to oppose to the end domination or direction by the NAACP. Professor Lake is bringing on integration when he stirs this up. I don't believe in playing race against race or group against group." He further accused Lake of attempting to secure support by ruining race relations and assured that he could stave off federally-mandated integration whereas Lake would generate a confrontation that would encourage it. He also attacked Lake's professional background, insisting "I was raised around the cotton patches and tobacco fields of Scotland County, and I know how to handle the racial situation better than a theoretical college professor." He contended that Lake's focus on racial matters distracted from the more important subject of quality education. Lake was blindsided by Sanford's reply, and increased his rhetorical attacks on Sanford in the following weeks, including accusing Sanford of having the near-total support of the "Negro bloc vote", a charge which Sanford disputed.
  Sanford garnered Seawell's endorsement and the quiet backing of Governor Hodges. He also cultivated a strong campaign organization—bolstered by the connections he had made during Scott's 1954 Senate campaign—and garnered the support of labor unions and education lobbyists. His network included the Branchhead Boys (Scott's old supporters), Jaycees, and Young Democratic Clubs. Winston-Salem businessman Bert Bennett provided critical leadership to his campaign and lined up key support behind him. Sanford was also innovative in the use of media consultants and polling data, being the first North Carolinian gubernatorial candidate to hire a pollster and prolifically use television advertisements. He ran as a progressive, but tried to avoid being labeled too liberal on issues of race. Businessmen and professionals who feared that Lake's positions on race would be unfavorable to North Carolina's economy backed Sanford. Sanford ultimately won the June 27 Democratic primary with a large lead, earning 352,133 votes in contrast to Lake's 275,905. Lake subsequently pledged his support to Sanford, but did little to assist his campaign in the upcoming general election.
  Meanwhile, preparations were underway for the 1960 Democrat
caption: Sanford with John F. Kennedy and Luther H. Hodges in 1961. Sanford's early decision to endorse Kennedy as a candidate for President of the United States upset Hodges and some of his own supporters.
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