 Before the 1960s many of the white leaders of the NCDP, as was the case with most state parties in the then one-party South, supported racial segregation.But beginning with the Republicans' 1964 Presidential campaign and Richard Nixon's "Southern Strategy" in 1968, many with such views – such as TV commentator Jesse Helms, who went on to serve several terms in the U.S. Senate – flocked to the Republican party.Since then, the majority of minority voters have joined moderate and progressive white voters to make NCDP values consistent with those of the national Democratic party.