1990 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
November 6, 1990
 
Nominee Bob Smith John A. Durkin
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 189,792 91,299
Percentage 65.13% 31.33%
Smith:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Durkin:      40–50%      50–60%      >90%
U.S. senator before election

Gordon J. Humphrey
Republican

 Elected U.S. Senator

Bob Smith
Republican

The 1990 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Gordon J. Humphrey decided to retire and not run for re-election to a third term. Republican Bob Smith won the open seat, easily defeating the Democratic nominee, former senator John A. Durkin.

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Tom Christo, attorney
  • Theo deWinter, engineer
  • Bob Smith, U.S. Representative from Wolfeboro
  • Ewing Smith, candidate for Senate in 1980

Results

1990 Republican U.S. Senate primary[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Smith 56,215 65.00%
Republican Tom Christo 25,286 29.24%
Republican Theo deWinter 2,768 3.20%
Republican Ewing Smith 2,009 2.32%
Democratic John Rauh (write-in) 94 0.11%
Democratic John A. Durkin (write-in) 66 0.08%
Democratic James Donchess (write-in) 48 0.06%
Total votes 86,486 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

1990 Democratic U.S. Senate primary[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic John A. Durkin 20,222 41.37%
Democratic James W. Donchess 15,205 31.10%
Democratic John Rauh 12,935 26.46%
Write-in All others 523 1.07%
Total votes 48,885 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Campaign

The 1990 New Hampshire Senate race garnered national news after John Durkin, previously a senator from New Hampshire in 1975-1980, made a remark that was perceived as a racial slur against the Japanese. Durkin told reporters interviewing him, "If you want a Jap in the United States Senate, then vote for Bob Smith". "Jap" is a term that was frequently used in WWII to describe the Japanese, and was, by 1990, considered racist terminology. The quote destroyed Durkin's campaign and he ended up losing to Smith by a more than 2-to-1 margin, a devastating blow for the ex-Senator.[3]

Results

1990 U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bob Smith 189,792 65.13%
Democratic John A. Durkin 91,299 31.33%
Libertarian John G. Elsnau 9,102 3.34%
Write-in 585 0.20%
Majority 98,493 33.80% {{{change}}}
Turnout 291,393 {{{change}}}
Republican hold Swing {{{swing}}}

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NH US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ "NH US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  3. ↑ Leubsdorf, Ben. "Former U.S. Senator John Durkin dies". Concord Monitor. CM. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Our Campaigns - NH US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1990".
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