November 6, 1990 1992 → 55 seats 45 seats 17,907,544 16,494,624 Date 6 November 1990 | Maine Kansas 56 44 51.1% 47.1% | |
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Winner George J Mitchell | ||
The United States Senate elections, 1990 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and, as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress.
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Only one seat changed parties in this election, as Democrat Paul Wellstone defeated incumbent Republican Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN). Democrats would gain a 57th seat after Harris Wofford won a 1991 special election to replace H. John Heinz III (R-PA), who had died in a plane crash.
Democratic gains
- Minnesota: Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) lost to his Democratic opponent, college professor Paul Wellstone. Wellstone ran a campaign highlighted by a unique series of political advertisements that helped him pull from behind to defeat two-term incumbent Boschwitz.
Democratic re-elected
- New Jersey: The usually safe Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ) suddenly became very vulnerable in the face of an unpopular income tax hike. Bradley refused to take a stand on the tax hike, initiated by Democratic Governor James Florio, which helped his Republican opponent Christine Todd Whitman. Bradley narrowly held his seat, but Whitman used this momentum to defeat Governor Florio in the 1993 gubernatorial election.
Republican holds
- North Carolina: Conservative Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) narrowly won re-election over former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt (D). The race featured a late-running ad attacking Gantt's support for affirmative action.
Complete list of races
A bolded state name indicates an article about that state's election.
References
United States Senate elections, 1990 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA