1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota

1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota

November 6, 1990

Nominee Paul Wellstone Rudy Boschwitz Party Democratic (DFL) Ind.-Republican Popular vote 911,999 864,375 Percentage 50.5% 47.9%

County results Wellstone:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Boschwitz:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

U.S. senator before election Rudy Boschwitz Ind.-Republican Elected U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone Democratic (DFL)

The 1990 United States Senate election in Minnesota was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz was defeated by Democratic challenger Paul Wellstone in a tight race. Widely considered an underdog and outspent by a 7-to-1 margin, Wellstone was the only candidate to defeat an incumbent senator as well as the only candidate to flip a seat in the 1990 election cycle and gained national attention after his upset victory.

Major Candidates

Democratic

• Paul Wellstone, professor at Carleton College and nominee for Minnesota State Auditor in 1982

Republican

• Rudy Boschwitz, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

General election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Paul Wellstone	911,999	50.49%
	Ind.-Republican	Rudy Boschwitz (incumbent)	864,375	47.86%
	Grassroots	Russell B. Bentley	29,820	1.65%
Total votes			1,806,194	100.00%
	Democratic (DFL) gain from Ind.-Republican

See also

• United States Senate elections, 1990 and 1991