Former GOP Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86

Former North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms (R) died Friday in Raleigh, according to the Jesse Helms Center.

Helms was elected to the Senate in 1972 and served five terms. During his time in Congress, he was a leader of the conservative movement and made a name for himself by battling communist countries, the United Nations and Democrats.

Helms also served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

The Jesse Helms Center said the former senator died at 1:15 a.m. on Friday morning. Helms was 86.

Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner hailed Helms as “one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century.

“Along with Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, he helped establish the conservative movement and became a powerful voice for free markets and free people,” Feulner said in a statement. “The defeat of Soviet communism and the rise of Ronald Reagan would not have happened without his intrepid leadership at decisive times.”