A group called Mothers Against Jesse in Congress, or MAJIC, has createdan attack ad of its own, and it's aimed directly at the incumbentRepublican U.S. Senator.
Patsy Clarke is a member of MAJIC, but says she used to be a Helms fan.
But then Clarke's son died of AIDS, a disease Helms has expressedlittle sympathy for. Clarke wrote to Helms appealing for him to be morecompassionate about the issue. Helms replied that he "wished (Clarke'sson) Mark had not played Russian Roulette with his life, but there is noescaping the reality of what happened".
Clarke, a 67-year-old Republican grandmother decided to team up withanother mother who had lost a son to AIDS, Eloise Vaughn. Together, theyformed MAJIC in memory of their sons, Mark Clarke and Mark Vaughn.
The ad produced by MAJIC will begin airing Sunday. Helms campaign staffwon't comment on the ad before it airs, but WRAL TV5'sAmanda Lambcaught up with Helms at acampaign stop in Wilson.
Clarke says she hopes other women will listen to her story.
The Helms campaign is threatening to sue any television stations thatair the commercial, but WRAL checked with the Federal Election Commission.
They say MAJIC is a federally registered political committee and is upto date on its filings of contributors and expenditures.
It is not affiliated with Harvey Gantt or any non-profit AIDSorganization.
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