1990 United States Senate election in Tennessee
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Gore: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
| Elections in Tennessee |
|---|
 |
 Government |
The 1990 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 6, 1990, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Tennessee. Incumbent Senator Al Gore defeated Republican challenger William R. Hawkins, winning re-election to a second term in a landslide, sweeping every county in the state.
As of 2025, this was the last time the Democrats won a U.S. Senate election in Tennessee, and also the most recent U.S. Senate election in Tennessee in which several counties went to the Democratic candidate.
Background
[edit]Democrat Al Gore had previously defeated Republican Victor Ashe in the 1984 Senate election.[1]
The election was held as part of the midterm election cycle of Republican President George H. W. Bush's term.[2] Historically, the President's party struggles during the midterms.[3]
Candidates and primaries
[edit]- Al Gore (Democrat), incumbent Senator seeking a second term[4]
- William R. Hawkins (Republican), conservative author[4][5]
Democratic primary
[edit]- Al Gore, incumbent Senator seeking a second term[4]
After winning his first term in a landslide victory, Gore decided to run for a second. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary.[5]
Republican primary
[edit]- William R. Hawkins, conservative author[5]
- Ralph H. Brown, retiree with no political experience[5]
- Patrick K. Hales, unsuccessful candidate for Tennessee Public Service Commission in 1986[5]
Hawkins ran after being approached by the Tennessee Conservative Union. He felt that Gore was "the most liberal Senator from the south".[6] Hawkins' primary had a total budget of 3 thousand dollars.[4]
Brown felt that even if he won the nomination he would not be able to defeat Gore in the general election. Despite this he felt it would give him a platform to publicize his beliefs.[6]
Hales ran because he felt Gore was "out of touch" with his fellow Tennesseans.[6]
Despite Gore being expected to easily win the general election, the primary was very closely contested. It was won by Hawkins by a very narrow margin.[4]
General election
[edit]Hawkins's campaign was poorly funded.[7] He only had 3 thousand dollars to fund his primary run. Comparatively Gore had began the campaign with around 1 million dollars.[4] Two weeks before election day Hawkins had raised 12 thousand dollars to Gore's 2 million.[8]
Hawkins stated that he wanted to have the campaign be the most "issue-orientated campaign Tennessee has ever seen."[4]
The staff of The Jackson Sun characterized the election cycle, including the Senate race, as boring, saying that due to the likelihood of Gore and incumbent Governor Ned McWherter's victories that the "gubernatorial and senatorial races are a yawn".[9]
On October 29, 1990, roughly two weeks before election day, Hawkins admitted that his campaign "failed to generate excitement" and acknowledged the relative obscurity of his campaign.[8]
Results
[edit]The election was held on November 6, 1990.[7][10] Gore, like most incumbents in the 1990 United States Senate elections,[11] was reelected to another term. Gore had a landslide victory,[7] receiving over 67 percent of the vote and winning all 95 of Tennessee's counties.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Al Gore (incumbent) | 529,914 | 67.72% | |
| Republican | William R. Hawkins | 233,324 | 29.92% | |
| Independent | Bill Jacox | 11,172 | 1.43% | |
| Independent | Charles Gordon Vick | 7,995 | 1.02% | |
| Write-in | 109 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 782,514 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Aftermath
[edit]On January 3, 1991, Gore was sworn in to the 102nd United States Congress by then–Vice President Dan Quayle alongside his fellow Senator-elects.[13] After being elected Vice President in the 1992 presidential election Gore resigned from his Senate seat on January 2, 1993.[14]
As of the 2024 election cycle, this was the last time the Democrats won a Senate election in Tennessee.[15] It is the most recent Senate election in Tennessee in which several counties, including Knox County and Hamilton County, went to the Democratic candidate.[16] Beginning with the 1994 elections the Democrat party struggled in the state.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ Ladd, Thomas E. (May 1, 1985). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional election of November 6, 1984" (PDF). Clerk of the House of Representatives. p. 54. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Dewar, Helen; Yang, John E. (November 6, 1990). "The Senate Incumbents Win Control Remains with Democrats". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Elving, Ron (November 13, 2022). "The midterms didn't produce a wave. Here's what that's meant historically". NPR. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Humphrey, Tom (August 8, 1990). "Gore foe vows 'unorthodox campaign'". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 6. Retrieved April 21, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Keeter, Terry (August 2, 1990). "Three bidding to unseat Gore". The Commercial Appeal. p. 133. Retrieved April 21, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Three GOP candidates vie for right to challenge Gore". Elizabethton Star. July 29, 1990. p. 2. Retrieved April 21, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "McWherter, Gore coast to victories". Bristol Herald Courier. November 7, 1990. p. 1. Retrieved April 21, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Even GOP activists don't know Senate nominee". Kingsport Times-News. October 29, 1990. p. 2. Retrieved April 27, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "State races fail to stir voter interest; light balloting predicted for Tuesday". The Jackson Sun. November 4, 1990. p. 1. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
- ^ Espo, David (November 7, 1990). "Demos win Texas, Florida, four other Governships; Helms wins". The Times and Democrat. pp. 1–4. Retrieved April 21, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dewar, Helen; Yang, John E. (November 6, 1990). "The Senate Incumbents Win Control Remains with Democrats". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ a b Liep, Dave. "1990 Senatorial General Election Results - Tennessee". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ Swearing-In of Senate Members (Video). C-SPAN. January 3, 1991. Event occurs at 5:27.
- ^ "Gore quits Senate Jan. 2 - UPI Archives". UPI. December 18, 1992. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ Taylor, Sarah Grace (November 6, 2024). "Marsha Blackburn tops Gloria Johnson, wins re-election". Nashville Banner. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ Liep, Dave. "Senatorial General Election Map Comparison - Tennessee". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ Friedman, Adam (September 11, 2024). "Jim Sasser, Tennessee's last Democratic U.S. senator, dies at 87 • Tennessee Lookout". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
| |||||||||
| Politics |
| ||||||||
| Electoral History |
| ||||||||
| Environment | |||||||||
| Technology | |||||||||
| Recognition | |||||||||
| Books | |||||||||
| Family |
| ||||||||