1990 United States Senate election in Delaware
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Personal U.S. Senator from Delaware 47th Vice President of the United States Vice presidential campaigns 46th President of the United States Tenure   |
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The 1990 United States Senate election in Delaware was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic U.S. senator Joe Biden won re-election to a fourth term, defeating Republican challenger Deputy Attorney General of Delaware M. Jane Brady. Brady decided to run because she felt that Biden's liberal voting record did not reflect the political positions of Delawareans. Brady's campaign raised around 245 thousand, she was heavily outspent by Biden who raised around 2.8 million.
Biden won in a landslide with over 60% of the vote improving on his 1984 margin, winning all three counties and all 41 state house districts
Background
[edit]In 1984, despite Ronald Reagan's landslide presidential victory,[1] Joe Biden won reelection to a third term defeating Republican challenger John M. Burris with a little over 60% of the vote.[2][3]
Canidates
[edit]Nominees
[edit]- Joe Biden (Democratic), incumbent Delaware senator running for a fourth consecutive term[4][3]
- M. Jane Brady (Republican), a criminal prosecutor and Deputy Attorney General of Delaware[4][5]
- Lee Rosenbaum (Libertarian), a data communications technician[4][6]
Eliminated in primaries
[edit]- David S. DeRiemer (Libertarian)[6]
Primaries
[edit]At the 1990 Delaware Democratic Party state convention, Biden revealed that he was running for a fourth term, stating that he made the decision to seek re-election during his time in a hospital stay.[7] Biden echoed this statement in an interview with C-SPAN, saying that it was "Not difficult at all. Ironically it was less difficult than any of the other decisions." He added that he came significantly closer to not running in 1978 and 1984.[‡ 1] Biden's unsuccessful 1988 presidential campaign was considered an issue for his campaign.[8]
The Delaware Republican Party struggled to find a candidate to challenge Biden. Party chairman Basil Battaglia reached out to the newspaper The News Journal to help find candidates.[9] The party eventually reached out to Deputy Attorney General of Delaware M. Jane Brady, due to her history as a criminal prosecutor.[‡ 2] She launched her campaign on May 16, 1990,[10] she resigned from her position shortly after.[11] She stated that her decision to run was made after she learned of Biden's liberal voting record and felt that it "just does not reflect the views of the people of Delaware".[‡ 2] Brady identified herself as a conservative, though noting that she held some socially liberal beliefs.[‡ 3]
The state convention of Libertarian Party of Delaware was held on, July 22, 1990. The only nomination that was contested was for the senate seat. Lee Rosenbaum, a data communications technician, defeated David S. DeRiemer.[6]
Election
[edit]Campaign
[edit]Speaking with C-SPAN, Biden stated he planned to campaign similarly to how he did in his previous elections.[‡ 4] Although he noted that he would have less time to campaign due to his role in overseeing David Souter's nomination to the Supreme Court due to his role on the Senate Judiciary Committee.[‡ 5] Biden had previously used his position on the committee to reject Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. Brady criticized this stating his role in the Bork hearings were evidence of Biden's poor character.[12]
The Delaware based newspaper The News Journal wrote that they felt the public knew little about Brady. Brady responded noting that she frequently sent them press releases and cases she worked on frequently received news coverage.[‡ 6]
In August 1990, Brady criticized Biden's use of the franking privilege granted to members of Congress stating that he could have instead used campaign funds.[‡ 7] She stated that if elected she would work to eliminate the privileges.[‡ 8] Later in October she accused Biden of hiring staff from his presidential campaign to work for him in the Senate, labeling it as an "abuse of public trust and a misuse of public funds". Ted Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff, stated that this wasn't unusual for a Senate Committee chairman.[13]
Despite Brady being one of few women running for Senate in 1990,[14] Biden was endorsed by various prominent women in the Government of Delaware.[15]
Brady stated that she hoped to win the election without accepting donations from special interest groups.[‡ 9] Brady's campaign raised around 200 thousand dollars by October 14th, and around 245 thousand dollars by election day. [16] Brady decided against running television commercials and instead to mail videotapes as it would be cheaper.[12] The campaign spent most of its funds, having $4,117 left over after the election. She was heavily outspent by Biden who raised around 2.8 million dollars spending around 2.6 million. He ended his campaign with $190,151 left.[16]
Results
[edit]Polls closed at 8 p.m.,[17] the Associated Press called the race for Biden at 8:42 p.m.[18] Biden, like most incumbents in the 1990 United States Senate elections, was reelected to another term.[19] He won with 62.68 percent of the vote.[20] A slight improvement on his previous margin of victory.[21] 5 votes were cast for write-in candidates.[20] The election had an under 40% turnout rate. Slightly higher than concurrent House of Representatives election for Delaware's at-large congressional district.[22]
Both Biden and Rosenbaum performed worse than their Democrat and Libertarian counterparts in the election for the House district. However, Brady outperformed Republican nominee Ralph O'Williams by three percent.[22] With the exception of Tom Carper in the House race, Biden outperformed all other Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian nominees for all of Delaware's at-large elections, including Attorney General, State Treasurer, and Auditor of Accounts. With exception of O'Williams, Brady underperformed the Republican nominees for all other at-large elections. Rosenbaum was the worst performing Libertarian nominee.[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Joe Biden (incumbent) | 112,918 | 62.68% | +2.57% | |
| Republican | M. Jane Brady | 64,554 | 35.83% | −4.06% | |
| Libertarian | Lee Rosenbaum | 2,680 | 1.49% | ||
| Write-ins | 5 | 0.00% | |||
| Majority | 48,364 | 26.85% | +6.62% | ||
| Turnout | 180,157 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
By subdivision
[edit]Biden won all three counties for the third election in a row.[24][25] Biden's best performance was in New Castle County, where he won 62 percent of the vote to Brady's 36 percent. Brady's best performance was in Kent County, where she won around 40 percent of the vote to Biden's 58 percent, his lowest share of the vote. Kent County was also Rosenbaum's best performance where he won slightly under two percent. However, Kent County was not the county were Rosenbaum received the most votes. There he received less than 500 votes when he received 1,621 votes around 1.56% of the vote.[‡ 10] New Castle County had the highest number of votes cast with 103 thousand, followed by Sussex County with 86 thousand.[4]
| County | Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. Democratic | M. Jane Brady Republican | Lee Rosenbaum Libertarian | Total votes cast | Ref(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | |||
| Kent | 14,537 | 57.93% | 10,103 | 40.26% | 453 | 1.81% | 25,093 | [4] |
| New Castle | 64,112 | 62.04% | 37,612 | 36.39% | 1,621 | 1.56% | 103,345 | |
| Sussex | 21,276 | 60.90% | 13,302 | 38.07% | 360 | 1.03% | 86,790 | |
| Total | 112,918 | 62.68% | 64,554 | 35.83% | 2,680 | 1.49% | 180,152 | |
Biden won all 41 representative districts, in the concurrent legislative election 24 Republican candidates won seats.[26] He won all of them by a majority of the vote. Biden's best performance was in District 20 where he received 4,260 votes. Rosenbaum also saw his highest vote total in the district with 106 votes. District 20 was additionally the district where the highest total amount of votes were cast. Biden worst performance came in District 34 where he received 1,593 votes to Brady's 1,377. Brady saw her best performance in District 11 with 2,999 votes to Biden's 3,111.[27]
| District | Joseph R. Biden Jr. Democratic | M. Jane Brady Republican | Lee Rosenbaum Libertarian | Total | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 3,289 | 829 | 72 | 4,190 | [27] |
| District 2 | 1,904 | 170 | 24 | 2,098 | |
| District 3 | 1,604 | 133 | 20 | 1,857 | |
| District 4 | 3,204 | 1,762 | 79 | 5,045 | |
| District 5 | 2,992 | 643 | 51 | 3,726 | |
| District 6 | 2,385 | 1,484 | 63 | 3,931 | |
| District 7 | 3,250 | 2,419 | 97 | 5,766 | |
| District 8 | 2,817 | 1,669 | 71 | 4,557 | |
| District 9 | 2,361 | 1,142 | 55 | 3,558 | |
| District 10 | 2,688 | 2,019 | 70 | 4,777 | |
| District 11 | 3,111 | 2,999 | 87 | 6,197 | |
| District 12 | 3,307 | 2,878 | 68 | 6,253 | |
| District 13 | 2,915 | 1,313 | 53 | 4,281 | |
| District 14 | 2,758 | 841 | 40 | 3,639 | |
| District 15 | 2,488 | 613 | 35 | 3,136 | |
| District 16 | 2,551 | 709 | 50 | 3,310 | |
| District 17 | 3,343 | 1,393 | 89 | 4,825 | |
| District 18 | 2,275 | 1,098 | 63 | 3,436 | |
| District 19 | 3,191 | 1,591 | 63 | 4,845 | |
| District 20 | 4,260 | 2,872 | 106 | 7,238 | |
| District 21 | 2,834 | 1,775 | 77 | 4,686 | |
| District 22 | 3,165 | 2,568 | 90 | 5,823 | |
| District 23 | 2,380 | 1,517 | 83 | 3,980 | |
| District 24 | 2,215 | 1,323 | 73 | 3,611 | |
| District 25 | 1,756 | 1,113 | 67 | 2,936 | |
| District 26 | 2,884 | 1,401 | 87 | 4,372 | |
| District 27 | 3,797 | 2,263 | 94 | 6,154 | |
| District 28 | 2,694 | 1,150 | 71 | 3,915 | |
| District 29 | 2,302 | 1,460 | 85 | 3,847 | |
| District 30 | 2,194 | 1,408 | 76 | 3,678 | |
| District 31 | 2,562 | 1,812 | 56 | 4,032 | |
| District 32 | 1,765 | 1,414 | 63 | 3,961 | |
| District 33 | 2,175 | 1,717 | 69 | 3,027 | |
| District 34 | 1,593 | 1,377 | 57 | 3,379 | |
| District 35 | 2,209 | 1,480 | 67 | 3,684 | |
| District 36 | 2,847 | 1,734 | 45 | 4,625 | |
| District 37 | 3,891 | 2,742 | 83 | 6,716 | |
| District 38 | 4,030 | 2,713 | 65 | 6,808 | |
| District 39 | 2,571 | 1,823 | 32 | 4,426 | |
| District 40 | 3,035 | 1,490 | 34 | 4,559 | |
| District 41 | 3,326 | 1,697 | 50 | 5,073 | |
| Total | 112,918 | 64,554 | 2,680 | 180,152 |
Aftermath
[edit]On January 3, 1991, Biden was sworn in to the 102nd United States Congress by then-Vice President Dan Quayle alongside his fellow Senator-elects.[28] During the following election cycle, Senate minority leader Bob Dole criticized the lack of media coverage that Brady, along with other female Republican candidates, received.[29]
References
[edit]- ^ 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. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Ladd, Thomas E. (May 1, 1985). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 1984" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ a b "Biden, Joseph Robinette (Joe), Jr. (1942–)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Harper 1991, p. 2.
- ^ "The Honorable M. Jane Brady, Judge". Delaware Superior Court. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Stewart, Ann (July 22, 1990). "Libertarian Party sets ticket of candidates". The News Journal. p. 1. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cohen, Celia (March 4, 1990). "Democrats eye '92 at annual powwow". The News Journal. p. 15. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 9:33. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
- ^ Moyed, Ralph (February 18, 1990). "Wanted! (Preferably alive) GOP candidates". The News Journal. p. 21. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Celia, Cohen (May 17, 1990). "Jane Brady challenges Biden for Senate seat". The News Journal. pp. 1–2. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cohen, Celia (September 11, 1994). "Brady gets GOP blessing". The News Journal. p. 1. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Senate campaigns resort to video". United Press International. Troy Daily News. October 14, 1990. p. 7. Retrieved March 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Kesler, Nancy (October 2, 1990). "Brady Accuses Biden of Juggling Staff in '87". The News Journal. p. 10.
- ^ Dole, Bob (June 9, 1992). "GOP's Women candidates get no respect or publicity". The Washington Post. Albuquerque Journal. p. 7.
- ^ "Women leaders back Biden's re-election bid". The News Journal. October 2, 1990. pp. 10–11.
- ^ a b "1990 Election United States Senate – Delaware". Federal Elections Commission. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Rove, Karl (March 31, 2021). "Opinion | Biden's Election-Reform Deception". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ^ Mullinax, Gary (November 7, 1990). "Reporting of results from Delaware spotty on the tube". The News Journal. p. 15. Retrieved March 22, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dewar, Helen; Yang, John E. (November 6, 1990). "The Senate Incumbents Win Control Remains with Democrats". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ a b Leip, David. "1990 Senatorial General Election Results - Delaware". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ a b Dennis 1985, p. 2.
- ^ a b Dendy, Dallas L. (April 29, 1991). Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990 (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Dendy, Dallas L. (April 29, 1991). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 1990" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ Wrightson 1978, p. 2.
- ^ Dennis 1985, p. 8.
- ^ Harper 1991, pp. 8, 12.
- ^ a b Harper 1991, p. 12.
- ^ Swearing-In of Senate Members (Video). C-SPAN. January 3, 1991.
- ^ Dole, Bob (June 9, 1992). "GOP's Women candidates get no respect or publicity". The Washington Post. Albuquerque Journal. p. 7.
Primary sources
In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- ^ Biden, Joe (August 6, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 00:27.
- ^ a b Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 00:36. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 02:44.
- ^ Biden, Joe (August 6, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 03:08.
- ^ Biden, Joe (August 6, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 04:10.
- ^ Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 02:02. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 5:24.
- ^ Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 15:01. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Brady, M. Jane (August 19, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 8:22. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Biden, Joe (August 6, 1990). Delaware Senate Campaign (Video). C-SPAN. Event occurs at 00:27.
Bibliography
[edit]- Wrightson, Lewis C. (December 20, 1978). State of Delaware: Official Results of General Election 1978 (PDF). Delaware Department of Elections.
- Dennis, Virginia M. (January 16, 1985). State of Delaware: Official Results of General Election 1984 (PDF). Delaware Department of Elections.
- Harper, Richard B. (March 27, 1991). State of Delaware: Official Results of General Election 1990 (PDF). Delaware Department of Elections.
