1990 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

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.

1990 United States Senate election in New Hampshire

← 1984 November 6, 1990 1996 →

Nominee Bob Smith John A. Durkin Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 189,792 91,299 Percentage 65.13% 31.33%

County results Municipality results 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

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

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

1990 Democratic U.S. Senate primary

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.

Results

1990 U.S. Senate election in New Hampshire

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

• 1990 United States Senate elections

References

1. "NH US Senate - R Primary". OurCampaigns. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
2. "NH US Senate - D Primary". OurCampaigns. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
3. Leubsdorf, Ben. "Former U.S. Senator John Durkin dies". Concord Monitor. CM. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
4. "Our Campaigns - NH US Senate Race - Nov 06, 1990". Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2009.