WASHINGTON, Sept.

RALEIGH, N.C. _ Jesse Helms will probably be remembered as one of the leading figures in the rise of the Republican Party in the South _ a person who helped move conservative Democrats to the GOP, according to historians and political experts who watched his career.

By Michael Newsom, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss. May 15--The results of Tuesday's congressional race in north Mississippi might be evidence that times are getting harder for Republicans, as three of the state's four districts are now held by Democrats.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives own a 37-seat majority after a win in the Republican stronghold of northern Mississippi, election results show.

When he was in Congress, Rep. Howard "Judge" Smith routinely frustrated the Washington establishment by leaving town when House leaders tried to push bills he did not like through his Rules Committee.