Sure thing. I'll try to answer them if I can.
"A few things I never got about the North Carolina seat (the one Richard Burr will hopefully win next year) is how it seems to be cursed. After Sam Ervin retired, the seat changed hands every six years (not counting the appointment of James Broyhill). I guess my question is how did each of the winner's take their seat (not counting Edwards, because we all know why he won). The one thing I really want to know is how did that fool (I'm not saying I have a problem with him ideologically, just that he was a poor candidate) Faircloth beat Terry Sanford, whom I thought was a revered figure in NC. And why did Governor Jim Martin appoint Broyhill, anyway? Thanks."
Hmm, well... It's hard to discuss the "jinxed" seat without mentioning Jesse Helms's influence, who held the seat throughout the period, so I'll mention him a bit... Going back to the very first election upon the revered Sen. Ervin's retirement, you have to look at the climate in the state in '74. Because, again, of Watergate, all of the GOP gains in NC were being wiped out, and a lot of the traditional Conservative 'Rats were returning to the fold because of what was termed the "Ervin Revolution." There were 3 major candidates on the 'Rat side, that being Henry Wilson (a Kennedy appointee who had moved down from Chicago, although he had been born in NC), ex-Congressman (and leftist) Nick Galifianakis (who lost to Jesse Helms 2 years earlier) and popular Attorney-General Robert Morgan. The GOP didn't really bother to field anyone of any stature, a textile exec named William Stevens. The amount of money spent and the end result of the election was about the same, with Morgan prevailing 2-to-1. As the luster of the 'Rats wore off, Jesse Helms was working his magic (with fundraising, a powerhouse almost unmatched at that time). As late as 1979, no one really expected Morgan to be defeated, but Helms had other ideas on how to make both seats GOP and went to work. Illinois native John East seemed to fit the bill, and he obtained the nomination unopposed. In another year and without Jesse Helms, East would've been the type to win perhaps less than 30% of the vote, but not this time. East had no record (he was a college professor), but he had Jesse and Jesse's fundraising lists. East had amassed so much money (outspending Sen. Morgan $1.2 million to $900k) and was able to run tv barrages on Morgan's votes on key issues, essentially tying him to Carter, and the result was an 11,000 vote win for East in a shocker. While in office, East was essentially a carbon-copy vote for Helms, but was largely quiet by comparison. Many on both sides had been burned out after the "race of the century" occurred in '84 between Helms and outgoing Gov. Jim Hunt, so it wasn't expected to be too big a deal in '86. East also had declining health while in office and many expected he was not going to run for reelection (he was wheelchair-bound and suffering from thyroid problems), and indeed he announced he wasn't in 1986, right before he committed suicide by sealing up his garage and leaving his car running. That left Gov. Jim Martin to appoint Jim Broyhill (who had been considered the leading candidate to run in '86 if East were to retire). I should mention that there were 2 distinct wings of the NC GOP at that time, the old line Western Mountain Republicans (the "establishment") of which Broyhill and Martin belonged (and both of whom had served in adjacent Congressional seats), and the newer Helms "Congressional Club" Republicans based in the central and eastern part of the state (ex-Conservative 'Rats), and both detested the other. The Broyhill/Martin Republicans hadn't even bothered with running a candidate in '80, but Broyhill was determined to win this time, and did. He did so after beating the Helms-backed candidate, ex-Ambassador to Romania David Funderburk, by a huge margin. There was no arguing the Broyhill was the more experienced candidate (I should also note that Funderburk finally did win election to the House in '94, only to lose it stupidly 2 years later because of a hit and run incident that he tried to weasel his way out of. That GOP-leaning seat is still held by a 'Rat). Jim Hunt, who could've had the seat in a cakewalk (well, at least what the pundits claimed), but he had no interest in returning to the political arena just yet. That left the "revered" old Terry Sanford, who, at 69, was somewhat of a has-been, a leftover from the JFK era of Southern Progressive Governors. Broyhill might've prevailed, but he couldn't quite connect to some of the loyal Helms backers and ran behind in the areas he badly needed (had Funderburk won the primary, he might've been able to, but given his future character deficiency, that might not have been much to crow about). Going into '92, Sanford might've been able to pull off reelection and break the jinx, but at 75 and voting a very liberal record that he simply couldn't defend (he was no Robert Morgan, who was practically a Conservative 'Rat), he was in serious trouble. Lauch Faircloth himself had worked for Sanford & Hunt and switched parties only a year before in '91 (some said he wanted the '86 'Rat nod for Senate and was determined to get even with Sanford, even if he had to do it as a Republican). Faircloth had the solid backing of Helms, and he fairly easily beat then-former Mayor Sue Myrick by a good margin (48%-30%) in the primary. As "old" as Faircloth looked (he was then 64, 2 years younger than Elizabeth Dole was when running last year, surprisingly), he was 11 years younger than Sanford, and considerably healthier. When Sanford had to undergo heart surgery right before the election, that pretty much sealed the deal (also, again, like in 1980 between East vs. Morgan, Faircloth outspent Sanford). I wouldn't have been as harsh in describing the old Scotsman Faircloth as you, he did do a good job as Senator, but Edwards got to play "the young man" in the '98 contest and he almost matched Faircloth with his ambulance-chaser bucks, but it wasn't quite enough. In '04, Richard Burr will get to play the "young man" to Edwards (Burr is 2 years younger), but his big hill to climb will be in raising the bucks (of course, Edwards was $1 million behind and won, so that proves Burr need not outraise Edwards, but that he should get close). With Helms retired, he won't be able to deliver for Burr like he did for Faircloth in '92 (but perhaps ole Jesse might still lend a hand as a nice final gift to NC !). Hopefully that answered your question (and that was the briefest answer I could give).
"Also, did a little research into that guy Chic Hecht, and you were absolutely right: he was a not a politician, and it's a wonder Dick Bryan didn't beat him in a landslide. My favorite gaffe of his was "Nuclear Suppository."
Heh. We make fun of Hecht, but he is probably an example of the type of citizen legislator that the Founding Fathers had in mind. I actually erred in saying he was not entirely not a politician, he had previously served a short stint in the state legislature. Hecht still stayed competitive with Bryan because he raised slightly more money than the then-Governor and he actually made an issue over Lt. Gov. Bob Miller as the person who would succeed Bryan (at the time, Miller's father-in-law had just been indicted), and the race ended up close. It's too bad Barbara Vucanovich had chosen not to run back in '86 or '88 for either Senate seat, as she probably would've more easily held a seat for us. Having Reid & Bryan in there for so long was/is rather inexcusable.