Pat Dollard | Young Americans

(FOX)

Former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, a leading conservative on Capitol Hill, died Friday morning. He was 86.

The Jesse Helms Center posted a brief statement on its Web site saying Helms died at 1:15 a.m. in Raleigh, N.C.

Jimmy Broughton, Helms’ former chief of staff, said he died of natural causes.

The five-term senator from North Carolina formerly chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and often railed against Communism, liberalism and big government.

Known by some as “Senator No” for his opposition to Democratic measures, Helms was a polarizing figure for his positions on social issues.

He was a proponent of school prayer and an opponent of abortion rights and gay rights groups.

Colleagues said he always was a gentleman, no matter what his positions were.

“Today we lost a senator whose stature in Congress had few equals,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “Senator Jesse Helms was a leading voice and courageous champion for the many causes he believed in.”