Jesse Helms, an Old South icon who mixed racial politics with an unwavering dedication to a robust American military and foreign policy, died early this morning in his native North Carolina.

Helms, 86, had been in faltering health in recent years. A cause of death was not released.

He served five terms in the Senate, serving from 1972 to 2002. He earned the nickname "Senator No" early in his career for his steadfast opposition to government spending, especially as it related to the United Nations, an instituion he often derided. Helms was an early supporter of Ronald Reagan, providing critical backing in the Tar Heel State to the former California governor in his 1976 presidential run and then serving as one of his most reliable anti-Communist allies on Capitol Hill in the 1980s.  

Helms chaired the coveted Senate Foreign Relations Committee late in his career, but was best known nationally for being one of the last Southerner office-holders to hold fast to antiquated racial views. A political survivor in a competitive state, Helms twice fended off challenges from former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, an African-American. In 1990, Helms ran a TV ad with a white man’s hands crumpling a rejection notice as an announcer lamented that the job in question had been given to a minority.

Along with Strom Thurmond, Helms was one of the Republican trailblazers who, by their own example, ushered in the transition of the "Solid South" from a reliably Democratic region to a Repubilcan bulwark. He was a polarizing figure, beloved by fellow conservatives and Southerners for his unapologetic views and despised by many liberals for the same. 

At the end of his career, Helms, while still a firebrand conservative, moderated his views enough to make the fight against AIDS in Africa a top priority. The elderly Republican even formed an unlikely relationship in the cause with Bono, the Irish rocker. The duo worked together on the issue and stayed in touch even after Helms left office.