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 County results Coats: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Hill: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Indiana |
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The 1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana was a special election held on November 6, 1990, in order to fill the Class III seat in the United States Senate from Indiana for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 1993. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Coats, who was appointed to replace Dan Quayle two years prior, won election to serve out the remainder of the term.
In 1986, incumbent Senator Dan Quayle sought reelection facing Democratic challenger Jill Long and was reelected in a landslide. [1] During the 1988 presidential election, Republican nominee George H. W. Bush selected Quayle as his running mate. [2] The Bush-Quayle ticket defeated the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket in the general election by a 53% to 46% margin, capturing 40 states and 426 electoral votes. [3] After being elected, Quayle resigned from the Senate. Indiana Governor Robert D. Orr appointed Representative Dan Coats of Indiana's 4th congressional district was to fill the vacancy. [4]
In 1990, a special election was held to decide who would serve the balance of Quayle's term, ending in 1993. Coats faced Democrat Baron Hill, a state representative from Seymour, in the general election. Coats used television commercials that raised questions about Hill's consistency in opposing new taxes, and Hill gained notoriety for walking the length of the state to meet voters.
The election was held on November 6, 1990. [5] [6] Coats, like most incumbents in the 1990 United States Senate elections, [7] held his seat and won the remainder of Quayle's term. [8] [9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Coats (incumbent) | 806,048 | 53.64% | −6.93% | |
| Democratic | Baron Hill | 696,639 | 46.36% | +7.85% | |
| Total votes | 1,502,687 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republican hold | |||||
On January 3, 1991, Coats was sworn in to the 102nd United States Congress by then–Vice President Quayle alongside his fellow Senators-elect. [11]
