November 7, 1916 1918 → 230 seats 6 seats 214 3 | 196 seats 230 seats 216 214 19 16 | |
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Winner Champ Clark | ||
Elections to the United States House of Representatives in 1916 were held for members of the 65th Congress, coinciding with the re-election of President Woodrow Wilson.
Contents
Wilson eked out a narrow re-election, but his Democratic Party lost seats to the opposition Republican Party. Wilson's hybrid approach, which injected a progressive element into Democratic policies, had proved to be dissatisfying to much of the nation. International affairs also became important in the traditionally non-interventionist United States, as voters attempted to determine which party would be best served to keep the nation from entering The Great War.
Although the Republicans gained a plurality, the Democrats narrowly maintained control of the House with minor party support, forming an alliance with the remaining third-party Progressives and Socialist Meyer London. This is the last example (to date) of a type of coalition holding power in the House, rather than a single party winning a majority of seats. Specifically, this is also the only election in U.S. history when three different parties were able to form a coalition government instead of just two. Because of this, it was only the second Congress where the party with the most seats was in opposition (versus being part of the ruling government) in the House, the first being the 34th Congress elected in 1854. This rare occurrence may have been why the parties' plan to form a coalition backfired, as voters quickly rejected the Progressive and Socialist parties in the next election. Meanwhile, the Democrats also lost support afterwards and would not control the House again until after the 1930 elections.
Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana was the first woman ever elected to congress.
Election summaries
The Democrats retained control of the House by forming a coalition with the three Progressive members and the single Socialist member, combining to form a razor-thin majority of 218 Representatives.
Early election date
Maine held its election early, on September 11, 1916. There had previously been multiple states with earlier elections, but between 1914 and 1958, Maine was alone in holding early elections.
Complete results
Party abbreviations
A slash between two labels indicates a fusion ticket
Montana
This was the last time Montana used an at-large district until its representation was reduced to one in 1992. This was also the first time a woman was elected to Congress.