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1990 U.S. Senate Elections: Results

33 Senate seats were decided on Tuesday, November 6, 1990: the 33 Class II seats. 29 incumbents kept their seats, 4 new senators were elected, and 1 seat changed party.

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Seats on the ballot

33

33 Class II

Held going in

17
16

17 Republican · 16 Democrat

New senators

4

29 incumbents re-elected

Seats that changed party

1

MN

Every Seat on the 1990 Ballot

Incumbent is whoever held the seat on election day; the result is who was sworn in for it afterwards.

State ▲ Incumbent ↕ Party ↕ Seat ↕ Result ↕
Alabama Howell Heflin Since 1979 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Alaska Ted Stevens Since 1968 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Arkansas David Pryor Since 1979 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Colorado William Armstrong Since 1979 Republican
Class II
Hank Brown (Republican)
Delaware Joe Biden, Jr. Since 1973 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Georgia Samuel Nunn Since 1972 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Idaho James McClure Since 1973 Republican
Class II
Larry Craig (Republican)
Illinois Paul Simon Since 1985 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Iowa Tom Harkin Since 1985 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Kansas Baker Kassebaum Since 1978 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Kentucky Mitch McConnell Since 1985 · age 48 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Louisiana J. Bennett Johnston, Jr. Since 1972 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Maine William Cohen Since 1979 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Massachusetts John Kerry Since 1985 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Michigan Carl Levin Since 1979 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Minnesota Rudy Boschwitz Since 1978 Republican
Class II
Paul Wellstone (Democrat) Party change
Mississippi William Cochran Since 1978 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Montana Max Baucus Since 1978 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Nebraska J. Exon Since 1979 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
New Hampshire Gordon Humphrey Since 1979 Republican
Class II
Robert Smith (Republican)
New Jersey Bill Bradley Since 1979 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
New Mexico Pete Domenici Since 1973 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
North Carolina Jesse Helms Since 1973 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Oklahoma David Boren Since 1979 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Oregon Mark Hatfield Since 1967 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Rhode Island Claiborne Pell Since 1961 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
South Carolina Strom Thurmond Since 1954 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
South Dakota Larry Pressler Since 1979 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Tennessee Albert Gore, Jr. Since 1985 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Texas Phil Gramm Since 1985 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
Virginia John Warner Since 1979 Republican
Class II
Re-elected
West Virginia Jay Rockefeller, IV Since 1985 Democrat
Class II
Re-elected
Wyoming Alan Simpson Since 1979 Republican
Class II
Re-elected

New Senators Elected in 1990

Hank Brown

Hank Brown

Republican · Colorado

Succeeded William Armstrong

 Larry Craig

Larry Craig

Republican · Idaho

Succeeded James McClure

 Paul Wellstone

Paul Wellstone

Democrat · Minnesota

Succeeded Rudy Boschwitz (Republican)

 Robert Smith

Robert Smith

Republican · New Hampshire

Succeeded Gordon Humphrey

About this page

Seats, incumbents and results are derived from the Senate's service records (via the congress-legislators dataset): the seats on a year's ballot are the class whose terms end the following January, plus any seat held by appointment pending a special election, and a result is recorded when the winner is sworn in. Incumbent status and candidates for the next election come from FEC candidate filings; a seat is listed as open when the FEC tags its candidates as running for a seat with no incumbent. Election day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. See every cycle since 1990, the seniority list and the voting analysis.