1990 United States Senate election in New Hampshire
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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.
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November 6, 1990
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Smith: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Durkin: 40–50% 50–60% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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Republican primary
Candidates
- Tom Christo, attorney
- Theo deWinter, engineer
- Bob Smith, U.S. Representative from Wolfeboro
- Ewing Smith, candidate for Senate in 1980
Results
| 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
- James W. Donchess, Mayor of Nashua
- John A. Durkin, former U.S. Senator
- John Rauh, founder of Americans for Campaign Reform and former CEO of Griffon Corporation
Results
| 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
- John A. Durkin, former U.S. Senator (Democratic)
- John G. Elsnau (Libertarian)
- Bob Smith, U.S. Representative from Wolfeboro (Republican)
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
| 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% | |||
| Turnout | 291,393 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||