The 1990 South Carolina United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1990 to select the U.S. Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from the state of South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. Popular incumbent Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Senator Strom Thurmond

Strom Thurmond

James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...

 cruised to re-election against Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 challenger Bob Cunningham.

Primaries

Senator Strom Thurmond

Strom Thurmond

James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...

 faced no opposition from South Carolina Republicans

South Carolina Republican Party

The South Carolina Republican Party and the South Carolina Democratic Party are the two major political parties within the U.S. state of South Carolina...

 and avoided a primary election

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

. The state Democrats

South Carolina Democratic Party

The South Carolina Democratic Party is the South Carolina affiliate of the United States Democratic Party. The Democratic party thrived during the Second Party System between 1832 and the mid-1850s and was one of the causes of the collapse of the Whig Party....

 saw this as an unwinnable race so when Bob Cunningham sought the Democratic nonimation, he was unopposed in his bid.

General election campaign

Cunningham, a retired intelligence officer, had little chance of defeating Strom Thurmond and the election was never a serious contest. Thurmond overwhelmingly outspent Cunningham in his re-election campaign.

Election results

| colspan=5 |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 hold
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See also

• List of United States Senators from South Carolina
• United States Senate elections, 1990
  United States Senate elections, 1990
  Elections to one-third of the seats in the United States Senate were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republicans. This was in keeping with the trend that the party of the President often loses seats in a midterm...
  
  
• South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1990
  South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1990
  The 1990 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. Governor Carroll A...