1990 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

Background

Main article: 1984 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

In 1984, despite Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the concurrent presidential election, Pell won a fifth term in the Senate, defeating Republican challenger Barbara Leonard. The 1990 election was held as part of the midterm election cycle of Republican President George H. W. Bush's term. Historically, the President's party struggles during the midterms. Prior to the election, Rhode Island's Senate seat was seen as a possible battleground.

Candidates and primaries

• Claiborne Pell (Democrat), incumbent U.S. Senator (1961-1995)

• Claudine Schneider (Republican), U.S. Representative (1981-1991) Pell had represented Rhode Island in the Senate since 1961 and was seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats. Scheider had represented Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 1981. As her popularity was on par with Pell's, she was seen as the Republican's best chance to flip the seat. The primary elections were held on September 11, both of them won their respective party's nomination without opposition.

General election

In 1989, in the lead up to the election Pell stated he would attempt to keep his campaign spending to a minimum. While Schneider had set a fundraising goal of $3 million, Pell did not set a goal but expected to raise around $700 thousand.

Campaign

An assessment by the New York Times News Service found that both candidates had similar policy positions on most issues. They also noted Schneider avoided running "attack ads" on Pell due to his popularity, instead opting to emphasize being "tough on crime".

Initially, Pell was expected to lose. He was seen as old and out of touch, compared to the relatively young Schneider. The pair debated on August 1. During the debate, Pell was asked what Rhode Island-related bills he had sponsored, he stated he could not recall any. However, Pell's, chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, popularity increased dramatically following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

President Bush and 1984 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro both held stump speeches throughout Providence, Rhode Island alongside Schneider and Pell respectively. Schneider criticized Ferraro for supporting Pell saying, "some people have decided it's politically expedient to be a Democrat first and a woman second."

Results

The election was held on November 6, 1990. Pell, like most incumbents in the 1990 United States Senate elections, was reelected to another term. He won in a landslide, receiving just over 60 percent of the vote with a 23 percent margin. Despite the large margin, this was a sharp decline from his 45 percent margin of victory in 1984. A total of 10 votes were cast for write-in candidates. The election had a turnout rate of over 40% of registered voters casting ballots, a similar level to the concurrent gubernatorial election.

Pell won all five of Rhode Island's counties. His best performance was in Providence County, where he received 65.6 percent of the vote. Schneider's best performance was in Kent County, where she 44.3 percent of the vote. Despite his large victory, Pell underperformed fellow Democrat Bruce Sundlun's margin in the concurrent gubernatorial election by 13 points.{{Election box begin no change

Aftermath

On January 3, 1991, Pell was sworn in to the 102nd United States Congress by then–Vice President Dan Quayle alongside his fellow Senators-elect. During the following election cycle, Senate minority leader Bob Dole criticized the lack of media coverage that Schneider, along with other female Republican candidates, received. In 1995, Pell announced he would not seek another term.

References

References

1. Raines, Howell. (November 7, 1984). "Reagan Wins By a Landslide, Sweeping at Least 48 States; G.O.P. Gains Strength in House". [[The New York Times]].
2. (November 9, 1984). "U.S. Senate". [[USA Today]].
3. Dendy, Dallas L.. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990".
4. (November 6, 1990). "The Senate Incumbents Win Control Remains with Democrats". [[The Washington Post]].
5. Hartman, Travis. (2022-11-07). "How does the president's party fare in the midterms?". [[Reuters]].
6. Oreskes, Michael. (May 9, 1990). "GOP undergoes recruiting effort to boost chances". [[The Sunday Oregonian]].
7. "Democratic Primary".
8. Pertman, Adam. (September 16, 1990). "GOP, Democrats trade fire across N.E.". [[The Boston Globe]].
9. Eagleton, Tom. (July 9, 1989). "Claiborne Pell will run for re-election without money". [[Columbia Daily Tribune]].
10. Apple Jr., R. W.. (October 7, 1990). "Iraqi invasion puts Pell campaign on more solid ground". [[The Sunday Oregonian]].
11. Phillips, Leslie. (August 24, 1990). "Ferraro keeps hand in politics". [[USA Today]].
12. Espo, David. (November 7, 1990). "Demos win Texas, Florida, four other Governships; Helms wins". [[The Times and Democrat]].
13. (November 6, 1990). "The Senate Incumbents Win Control Remains with Democrats". [[The Washington Post]].
14. (May 30, 2017). "1984 Senatorial General Election Results - Rhode Island".
15. Liep, Dave. "1990 Senatorial General Election Results – Rhode Island".
16. Liep, Dave. "1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Rhode Island".
17. (January 3, 1991). "Swearing-In of Senate Members".
18. Dole, Bob. (June 9, 1992). "GOP's Women Candidates Get No Respect or Publicity". [[Albuquerque Journal]].
19. (1995-09-05). "Sen. Pell announces his retirement".