The 1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana was a special election held on November 6, 1990, in order to fill the Class III seat in the United States Senate from Indiana for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 1993. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Coats, who was recently appointed to this seat two years prior, won re-election to serve out the remainder of the term.
In order to assume the Vice Presidency, Quayle was required to resign his seat in the Senate. In preparation for the pending vacancy, GovernorRobert D. Orr appointed four-term U.S. RepresentativeDan Coats to fill Quayle's seat on December 12, 1988. Coats was a former aide to Quayle, whom he had succeeded as U.S. Representative for Indiana's 4th congressional district in 1980. Quayle eventually resigned his Senate seat on January 3, 1989, and Coats was immediately sworn into office.
In 1990, a special election was held to decide who would serve the balance of Quayle's term, ending in 1993. Coats faced DemocratBaron Hill, a state representative from Seymour, in the general election. Coats used television commercials that raised questions about Hill's consistency in opposing new taxes, and Hill gained notoriety for walking the length of the state to meet voters.