# 1990 United States Senate election in Illinois

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
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vte :
The 1990 United States Senate election in Illinois was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Paul Simon sought re-election to a second term in office. Simon was opposed by Republican nominee Lynn Morley Martin, a U.S. Congresswoman from Illinois's 16th congressional district, whom he easily defeated to win a second and final term in the Senate.
Primaries were held March 20, 1990.

## Background

The primaries and general elections coincided with those for House, as well as those for state offices.
For the primaries, turnout was 23.02%, with 1,384,324 votes cast. For the general election, turnout was 53.90%, with 3,251,005 votes cast.

## Democratic primary

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Paul Simon (incumbent) | 811,329 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 811,329 | 100.00% |

## Republican primary

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Lynn Martin | 572,995 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 572,995 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Paul Simon (D), incumbent United States Senator
* Lynn Morley Martin (R), United States Congresswoman from Illinois's 16th congressional district

### Election

At the start of the election, Martin was considered a formidable challenger, but her campaign floundered – in ads, Martin poked fun at Simon's signature bow tie, but the ad campaign, an attempt at humor, was seen by some as petty and mean-spirited. Martin's campaign suffered from poor fundraising as well, being outspent by Simon by a margin of two-to-one. Simon's popularity proved too much to overcome, and he won with 65 percent of the vote, carrying all but two counties in the state; Edwards County in the southeast and McHenry County outside Chicago, in the heart of the district Martin represented for most of the 1980s. In a midterm favorable to Democrats, Martin was further hurt by negative campaign tactics deployed by advisor Roger Ailes, as well as a number of gaffes. Including, referencing downstate voters as "rednecks". Martin raised the most campaign funds out of any Republican Senate challenger that cycle.

### Results

United States Senate election in Illinois, 1990 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Paul Simon (incumbent) | 2,115,377 | 65.07% | +15.00% |
| | Republican | Lynn Martin | 1,135,628 | 34.93% | −13.28% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,251,005 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |