Republicans and avoided a primary election. The state Democrats saw this as an unwinnable race so when Bob Cunningham sought the Democratic nomination, he was unopposed in his bid. Cunningham launched his second bid to unseat Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond after switching from the GOP to the Democratic Party in early 1990. Though he faced a formidable opponent, Cunningham planned no fund-raising activities. "I don't plan to ask for anything and I won't accept any money from PACs," he said. Cunninghman said his campaign strategy was to "go to places where I was invited and spread out my ideas." If elected, Cummingham said he would push to limit consecutive congressional service to 12 years and reform the tax system. He supported greater environmental activism. "I think we're going at it in much too lukewarm a fashion. I think we should work hard to find a substitute for the internal combustion engine." The election was never a serious contest. Thurmond overwhelmingly outspent Cunningham in his re-election campaign. South Dakota Incumbent Republican Larry Pressler won a narrow re-election battle against Democratic opponent Ted Muenster and Independent candidate Dean Sinclair, in contrast to his easy win in 1984. Tennessee Democratic Senator Al Gore won re-election to a second term over Republican William R. Hawkins, a conservative author. As of 2016, this is the last Senate election in Tennessee that was won by a Democrat and the last time they won the state's Class 2 Senate Seat. Texas Incumbent Republican Phil Gramm won re-election to a second term, beating Hugh Parmer, State Senator and former Mayor of Fort Worth Gramm, a popular incumbent who switched parties a few years prior, had over $5 million on hand. Virginia Incumbent Republican John W. Warner won re-election to a third term. No Democrat filed to run against him as he won every single county and city in the state with over 60% of the vote. Independent Nancy B. Spannaus (an affiliate of the controversial Lyndon LaRouche) got 18% of the vote, as she was the only other candidate on the ballot besides Warner. West Virginia The 1990 United States Senate election in West Virginia was held November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller won re-election to a second term. Wyoming Incumbent Republican Alan Simpson easily won re-election to a third term over Democratic challenger Kathy Helling. See also 1990 United States elections 1990 United States