Harvey Gantt was seeking to become the first African-American senator from North Carolina. A boost from Jordan, who at that time hadn’t won an NBA title but was still one of the most famous, beloved people on the planet, could have only benefitted Gantt. “We didn’t spend a lot of time brooding about it,” Gantt said in an interview on Friday. “Or saying darn, if Michael had endorsed us we would have gotten another 10, 20, 30, 40 thousands votes. That was not the first thing that came to my mind on the morning after that defeat.”