1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana

Last updated

1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana
Flag of Indiana.svg
  1986 November 6, 1990 1992  
  Dan Coats (R-IN).jpg Baronhill (cropped).jpg
Nominee Dan Coats Baron Hill
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote806,048696,639
Percentage53.64%46.36%

1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana results map by county.svg
County results
Coats:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Hill:     50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election

Dan Coats
Republican

Elected U.S. Senator

Dan Coats
Republican

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 recently appointed to this seat two years prior, won election to serve out the remainder of the term.

Contents

Background

During the 1988 presidential election, Republican nominee Vice President George H. W. Bush selected U.S. Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his vice presidential nominee. The Bush-Quayle ticket defeated the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket in the general election by a 53%-46% margin, capturing 40 states and 426 electoral votes.

In order to assume the vice presidency in January 1989, Quayle was required to resign his seat in the Senate. In preparation for the pending vacancy, Governor Robert D. Orr appointed four-term U.S. Representative Dan Coats to fill Quayle's seat on December 12, 1988. Coats was a former aide to Quayle, whom he had succeeded as U.S. Representative for Indiana's 4th congressional district in 1981, and had just been elected to a fifth term from that seat. Quayle eventually resigned his Senate seat on January 3, 1989, and Coats was immediately sworn in as his successor.

Candidates

Democratic

Republican

Campaign

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.

Results

1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Dan Coats (incumbent) 806,048 53.64% -6.93%
Democratic Baron Hill 696,63946.36%+7.85%
Total votes1,502,687 100.0% N/A
Republican hold

Notes

  1. Dendy, Dallas L. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990" (PDF).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Quayle</span> Vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993

James Danforth Quayle is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Coats</span> American politician, attorney, and diplomat (born 1943)

Daniel Ray Coats is an American politician, attorney, and diplomat. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2011 to 2017. He was the United States Ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2005, and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989. Coats served on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence while in the U.S. Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Bentsen</span> American politician (1921-2006)

Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron Hill (politician)</span> American politician (born 1953)

Baron Paul Hill is a retired American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for Indiana's 9th congressional district from 1999 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">101st United States Congress</span> 1989–1991 U.S. Congress

The 101st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1989, to January 3, 1991, during the final weeks of Ronald Reagan's presidency and the first two years of George H. W. Bush's presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 United States Senate elections</span>

The 1970 United States Senate elections was an election for the United States Senate. It took place on November 3, with the 33 seats of Class 1 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. These races occurred in the middle of Richard Nixon's first term as president. The Democrats lost a net of three seats, while the Republicans and the Conservative Party of New York picked up one net seat each, and former Democrat Harry F. Byrd Jr. was re-elected as an independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Long Thompson</span> American politician and academic

Jill Lynette Long Thompson is an American politician, educator, and author. A former Congresswoman from Indiana, she is the author of The Character of American Democracy, published by Indiana University Press in September 2020. From 2015 to 2020 she taught ethics as a visiting clinical associate professor at the Kelley School of Business and the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington and during the 2020–2021 academic year she served as a visiting scholar with the Ostrom Workshop, also at Indiana University. Until 2015 she was board chair and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration, a position to which President Barack Obama appointed her. The first person in her family to graduate from college, she earned a B.S. in business administration at Valparaiso University and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in business at Indiana University. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 United States Senate election in Indiana</span> U.S. Senate election in Indiana

The 1992 United States Senate election in Indiana was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Coats won re-election to his first full term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 United States Senate election in Indiana</span> U.S. Senate election in Indiana

The 1980 United States Senate election in Indiana took place on November 4, 1980, along with elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as the presidential election, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Birch Bayh ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by Republican nominee, U.S. Representative Dan Quayle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States Senate election in Florida</span>

The 1988 United States Senate election in Florida was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. Republican Connie Mack III won the open seat, becoming the first Republican to hold this seat since Reconstruction in 1875.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States elections</span> Elections in the United States in 1988

The 1988 United States elections were held on November 8 and elected the President of the United States and members of the 101st United States Congress. Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated Democratic Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis. Despite Dukakis' defeat, the Democratic Party built on their majorities in Congress.

Dan Coats is a politician from the state of Indiana and a member of the Republican Party. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Indiana's 4th congressional district from 1981 to 1989. In 1989, he was appointed to the United States Senate by Indiana Gov. Robert D. Orr following U.S. Sen. Dan Quayle's resignation from the Senate due to Quayle's election as Vice President of the United States. Coats served in the Senate from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2011 to 2017. Coats served as the 5th Director of National Intelligence from March 2017-August 2019.

Dan Quayle is a politician from the state of Indiana. Quayle represented Indiana's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981. Quayle upset 3-term incumbent United States Senator Birch Bayh in 1980 as part of the Republican landslide, which saw the party gain 12 seats and the majority in the United States Senate and Ronald Reagan elected president. In 1988, Quayle was chosen by U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee as his running mate and elected the nation's 44th vice president, serving from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States Senate election in Indiana</span> U.S. Senate election in Indiana

The 2016 United States Senate election in Indiana was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Indiana. The election was held alongside the presidential election and 2016 Indiana elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 United States presidential election in Virginia</span> Election in Virginia

The 1988 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 8, 1988. All 50 states and the District of Columbia, were part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Virginia voters chose 12 electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Indiana gubernatorial election</span> Election for the governorship of the U.S. state of Indiana

The 2016 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Indiana, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on May 3, 2016. Republican Lieutenant Governor Eric Holcomb won the race with 51.4% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection</span>

This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1988 election. Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush won the 1988 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate. The selection of Quayle surprised many of Bush's closest advisers, who had expected Bush to pick a more well-known running mate. However, Bush adviser Roger Ailes helped convince Bush that Quayle would be able to effectively attack the Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis. Bush also liked Quayle's youth and felt that Quayle would make for a loyal vice president. The Bush–Quayle ticket ultimately defeated the Dukakis–Bentsen ticket in the 1988 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1952 United States Senate special election in Connecticut</span>

The 1952 United States Senate special election in Connecticut was held on November 4, 1952, to fill the vacancy left by the death of Brien McMahon.