1990 United States Senate election in Oregon

none March 2026 September 2023 1990 United States Senate election in Oregon Oregon presidential no 1984 United States Senate election in Oregon 1984 1996 United States Senate election in Oregon 1996 November 6, 1990 150x150px File:Mark hatfield (cropped).jpg Mark Hatfield Republican Party (United States) 590,095 53.68% File:Harry Lonsdale.jpg Harry Lonsdale Democratic Party (United States) 507,743 46.19% 1990 United States Senate election in Oregon results map by county.svg 260px County results Hatfield: #ffb2b2 40–50% #e27f7f 50–60% #d75d5d 60–70%Lonsdale: #a5b0ff 40–50% #7996e2 50–60% U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield Republican Party (United States) Mark Hatfield Republican Party (United States) The 1990 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1990, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Mark Hatfield was re-elected to a fifth term, defeating Democratic businessman Harry Lonsdale. Primaries The front-runners emerged quickly: for the Republicans, Hatfield was in his fourth term and was the 8th most senior U.S. Senator, having previously served as Governor of Oregon for two terms and Oregon Secretary of State. For the Democrats, Harry Lonsdale, who had founded the biotechnology company Bend Research, announced in early 1990 that he intended to aggressively challenge Hatfield over the incumbent's ties to special interests, and his positions on abortion rights and timber management. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_tY9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=dIYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6996,626503 Lonsdale blast launches Senate campaign The Bulletin Attle Rick March 5, 1990 March 31, 2011 Republican primary Campaign In the Republican primary, Hatfield received a token challenge from Randy Prince, an environmentalist and former Eugene mayoral candidate who had once protested old-growth forest logging by tree sitting for 40 days. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vkRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nuoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2894,3715473 If you're looking for Hatfield... March 16, 1990 The Register-Guard March 31, 2011 Despite an early miscue by Hatfield in which he missed the deadline for submitting a photograph for the primary voter's guide, Hatfield handily defeated Prince to move on to the general election.Cain Brad May 16, 1990 Lonsdale getting ready to battle Hatsfield https://www.newspapers.com/image/442433124/ July 16, 2025 Albany Democrat-Herald 5 Associated Press Results 1990 Republican primary for United States Senator from Oregon Republican Party (United States) Mark Hatfield (incumbent) 208,327 79% Republican Party (United States) Randy Prince 54,722 21% 263,099 100.00% Democratic primary Campaign Representative Ron Wyden of Oregon's 3rd congressional district considered challenging Hatfield, but decided against it. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PAIzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZusDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5596%2C4757872 Hatfield shifts gears in race The Register-Guard October 21, 1990 Walth Brent March 31, 2011 Lonsdale, who was unknown as a politician, announced his campaign in March, and came out swinging directly at Hatfield and mostly ignored his primary challengers. Lonsdale's main campaign themes were abortion rights, which Hatfield opposed; and timber management, in which Lonsdale opposed exporting timber from Oregon forests and wanted to restrict logging in old-growth forests. Lonsdale also criticized Hatfield as being out-of-touch with Oregonians after so many years in the Senate. Lonsdale announced that he would refuse to take special-interest contributions in his campaign, and would finance the campaign himself with the millions he had made from Bend Research. Lonsdale easily defeated his competition: Salem attorney Steve Anderson, Pleasant Hill computer programmer Neale S. Hyatt, Milwaukie retired truck driver Brooks Washburne, Eugene activist Bob Reuschlein, and Frank A. Clough, also of Eugene. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t0RWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nuoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5986,2129650 2nd Eugene man enters Senate race March 9, 1990 March 31, 2011 The Register-Guard Boyd Jim http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=249680 Oregon US Senate Democratic Primary Race, May 15, 1990 ourcampaigns.com March 31, 2011 Results Democratic primary for the United States Senate from Oregon, 1990 Democratic Party (United States) Harry Lonsdale 162,529 64.13% Democratic Party (United States) Steve Anderson 34,305 13.54% Democratic Party (United States) Neale S. Hyatt 20,684 8.16% Democratic Party (United States) Brooks Washburne 13,766 5.43% Democratic Party (United States) Bob Reuschlein 12,383 4.89% Democratic Party (United States) Frank Clough 8,235 3.25% Democratic Party (United States) miscellaneous 1,535 0.61% 253,437 100.00% General election Campaign Once the primaries concluded, Hatfield, who had been first elected U.S. Senator in 1966, rolled out his usual campaign honed from his decades of experience: he refused debates, never engaged his opponent directly, and focused on small, friendly campaign appearances that stressed the influence he wielded as a U.S. Senator with seniority and influence. Lonsdale's self-financed campaign made heavy use of TV attack ads, criticizing Hatfield as being out of step with Oregonians on every issue, but primarily in terms of timber and abortion. He also made use of a nationwide anti-incumbency sentiment, and tore into Hatfield for being too closely tied to Washington special interests, and attempted to tie Hatfield to the Savings and loan crisis of the mid-1980s through his advisor Gerry Frank of the Meier & Frank chain of Oregon department stores, who had ties to a Salem savings and loan. By early October, polls showed the gap closing from 25 down to about 4 points in an early October poll conducted by The Oregonian newspaper, and by the end of October, some polls showed Lonsdale in the lead. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PgIzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZusDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4867,5223916 Lonsdale leads race, poll shows October 23, 1990 Walth Brent The Register-Guard March 31, 2011 With the polls running against him and time running out, Hatfield, who had not been seriously challenged since first being elected in 1966 and had never lost an election, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JtU9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=hoYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3063,3090591 Hatfield overcomes Lonsdale, anti-incumbent mood to win November 7, 1990 March 31, 2011 The Bulletin abandoned his tactic of staying above the fray and not engaging Lonsdale directly. In the media and in television ads, he charged Lonsdale with hypocrisy in his environmental stand, alleging that Lonsdale had allowed his company to illegally dump toxic chemicals into the environment. State will look at claims of Bend Research dumping The Register-Guard October 19, 1990 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I4FTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f4YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6833,4787315 March 31, 2011 Lonsdale vigorously denied the charges, which were later shown to have violated no laws, but the tactic may have stalled Lonsdale's momentum. Lonsdale Firm's Hazardous Waste Violated No Rules The Register-Guard Walth Brent March 21, 1992 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6EJWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nOoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5442%2C4430859 March 31, 2011 Hatfield went on to win in all but Multnomah, Columbia, Jackson, Baker, and Lincoln counties to win by more than 7 percentage points statewide.Liep Dave 1990 Senatorial General Election Results - Oregon https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1990&fips=41&f=0&off=3&elect=0&class=2 July 16, 2025 Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections Results 1990 United States Senate election in Oregon Republican Party (United States) Mark Hatfield (incumbent) 590,095 53.68% Democratic Party (United States) Harry Lonsdale 507,743 46.19% Write-In Misc. 1,417 0.13% 1,099,255 100.00% Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) +County Mark Hatfield RepublicanHarry Lonsdale Democratic%#%#Baker49.61% 2,97550.11%3,005Benton56.25%16,38243.72%12,733Clackamas55.76%65,29944.21% 51,775Clatsop54.35%7,00745.65%5,886Columbia49.64%7,62049.88%7,658Coos49.88%11,18449.64%11,130Crook55.61%2,93044.30%2,334Curry50.49%4,10949.00%3,988Deschutes50.39%14,59249.56%14,354Douglas56.44%19,17743.52%14,787Gilliam54.49%46145.27%383Grant53.02%1,66946.86%1,475Harney57.46%1,66342.47%1,229Hood River56.76%3,39543.24%2,586Jackson48.56%26,86851.41%28,447Jefferson53.23%2,31346.70%2,029Josephine50.82%12,01649.14%11,618Klamath50.52%10,01049.70%9,801Lake54.61%1,67745.39%1,394Lane52.29%56,49747.38%50,903Lincoln44.23%7,10855.73%8,957Linn60.50%20,28739.49%13,241Malheur61.37%4,94338.49%3,100Marion60.50%51,24239.17%33,172Morrow56.90%1,43942.86%1,084Multnomah49.27%117,36650.54%120,408Polk61.39%12,17038.60%7,653Sherman58.46%59441.34%420Tillamook51.53%4,89248.41%4,596Umatilla57.10%8,92642.89%6,704Union54.70%4,83445.06%3,982Wallowa55.31%1,81244.60%1,461Wasco56.60%4,97843.39%3,816Washington57.05%68,13442.93%51,268Wheeler42.77%34038.87%309Yamhill56.57%13,18643.14%10,057 Aftermath This would be Hatfield's last term as U.S. Senator. He announced his retirement from the Senate in 1996. Despite stating that he was finished with politics following his loss to Hatfield, Lonsdale sought the Democratic nomination for Oregon's other Senate seat, held by Republican Bob Packwood in the 1992 Senate election, but lost in an extremely close and bitter primary to U.S. Congressman Les AuCoin. Lonsdale tried again for the Democratic nomination for the seat vacated by Hatfield in the 1996 Senate election, but lost by a wide margin to Mentor Graphics founder Tom Bruggere, who in turn lost to Republican Gordon Smith. References 2 Oregon 1990 Senate