1990 U.S. House Election

The 1990 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives on November 6, 1990, to elect members to serve in the 102nd United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term. As in most midterm elections, the president's Republican Party lost seats to the Democratic Party, slightly increasing the Democratic majority in the chamber. It was a rare instance, however, in which both major parties lost votes to third parties such as the Libertarian Party as well as independent candidates.

, this is the last time any party won at least 260 House seats, or 60 percent of the chamber's seats.

Election summaries

407 incumbent members sought reelection, but one was defeated a primary and 15 were defeated in the general election for a total of 391 incumbents winning.

Source
Election Statistics – Office of the Clerk

Retirements

There were a total of 27 Representatives and one delegate not seeking re-election: 11 Democrats and 17 Republicans.

Democrats

# : Ronnie Flippo retired to run for Governor of Alabama.
# : Augustus Hawkins retired.
# : Bruce Morrison retired to run for Governor of Connecticut.
# : Walter Fauntroy retired to run for mayor of Washington D.C.
# : Bill Nelson retired to run for Governor of Florida.
# : Lindy Boggs retired.
# : Joseph E. Brennan retired to run for Governor of Maine.
# : George Crockett Jr. retired.
# : Tom Luken retired
# : Wes Watkins retired to run for Governor of Oklahoma.
# : Marvin Leath retired.

Republicans

# : Tommy F. Robinson retired to run for Governor of Arkansas.
# : Norman D. Shumway retired.
# : Hank Brown retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : John G. Rowland retired to run for Governor of Connecticut.
# : Pat Saiki retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Larry Craig retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Lynn Morley Martin retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Tom Tauke retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Bob Whittaker retired.
# : Bill Schuette retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Bill Frenzel retired.
# : Virginia D. Smith retired.
# : Bob Smith retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Jim Courter retired
# : Mike DeWine retired to run for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio.
# : Claudine Schneider retired to run for U.S. Senate.
# : Howard C. Nielson retired

Resignations

Four incumbents resigned in 1990, three Democrats and one Republican, with no special elections to fill the vacant seats before the November election.

Democrats

#: Robert Garcia resigned January 7, 1990 following trial over links to involvement in Wedtech scandal.
#: James Florio resigned January 16, 1990, to become Governor of New Jersey.
#: Daniel Akaka resigned January 16, 1990, to become a U.S. Senator.

Republican

#: Guy Molinari Incumbent resigned December 31, 1989.

Incumbents defeated

In primary elections

One Member of Congress lost renomination.

Republican

# : Buz Lukens lost renomination to John Boehner, who won the general election.

In general elections

Democrats

Six Democrats lost re-election to Republicans
# : Douglas H. Bosco (first elected in 1982) lost re-election to Frank Riggs
# : Jim Bates (first elected in 1982) lost re-election to Duke Cunningham
# : Roy Dyson (first elected in 1980) lost re-election to Wayne Gilchrest
# : James M. Clarke (first elected in 1982, and then re-elected in 1986 after losing in 1984) lost re-election to Charles H. Taylor
# : Doug Walgren (first elected in 1976) lost re-election to Rick Santorum
# : Robert Kastenmeier (first elected in 1958) lost re-election to Scott Klug

Republicans

Eight Republicans lost re-election to Democrats
# : Chip Pashayan (first elected in 1978) lost re-election to Cal Dooley
# : James W. Grant (first elected in 1986) lost re-election to Pete Peterson
# : John P. Hiler (first elected in 1980) lost re-election to Tim Roemer
# : Arlan Stangeland (first elected in 1977) lost re-election to Collin Peterson
# : Jack Buechner (first elected in 1986) lost re-election to Joan Kelly Horn
# : Charles Douglas III (first elected in 1988) lost re-election to Richard Swett
# : Denny Smith (first elected in 1980) lost re-election to Michael J. Kopetski
# : Stanford Parris (first elected in 1972, and then re-elected in 1980 after losing in 1974) lost re-election Jim Moran

One Republican lost re-election to an Independent
# : Peter Plympton Smith (first elected in 1988) lost re-election to Bernie Sanders

Open seats that changed parties

Republican seats won by Democrats

Six Republican seats were won by Democrats
#: Won by Ray Thornton
#: Won by Neil Abercrombie
#: Won by Larry LaRocco
#: Won by John W. Cox Jr.
#: Won by Jack Reed
#: Won by Bill Orton

Democratic seats won by Republicans

There were no Democratic seats won by Republicans

Open seats that parties held

Democratic seats held by Democrats

Democrats held thirteen of their open seats
#: Won by Anna Eshoo
#: Won by Maxine Waters
#'': Won by Eleanor Holmes Norton''
#: Won by Rosa DeLauro
#: Won by Jim Bacchus
#: Won by Patsy Mink who also won the district's special election, see below
#: Won by William Jefferson
#: Won by Thomas Andrews
#: Won by Barbara-Rose Collins
#: Won by Rob Andrews who also won the district's special election, see below
#: Won by Charlie Luken
#: Won by Bill Brewster
#: Won by Chet Edwards

Republican seats held by Republicans

Republicans held twelve of their open seats
#: Won by John Doolittle
#: Won by Wayne Allard
#: Won by Gary Franks
#: Won by Jim Nussle
#: Won by Dick Nichols
#: Won by Dave Camp
#: Won by Jim Ramstad
#: Won by Bill Barrett
#: Won by Bill Zeliff
#: Won by Dick Zimmer
#: Won by Dave Hobson
#: Won by John Boehner

Closest races

Fifty-four races were decided by 10% or lower.

Special elections

Elections are listed by date and district.

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Non-voting delegates

See also

* 1990 United States elections
** 1990 United States gubernatorial elections
** 1990 United States Senate elections
* 101st United States Congress
* 102nd United States Congress

Notes

References

Works cited

*

{{United States House of Representatives elections

Presidency of George H. W. Bush
John Boehner
John Conyers
John Dingell
Dick Durbin
Barney Frank
Dennis Hastert
John Lewis
Ed Markey
Chuck Schumer
Jamie Whitten