November 5, 1974 1976 → 291 144 30,054,097 21,271,332 Start date November 4, 1974 | 242 seats 192 seats 49 48 57.5% 40.7% | |
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Winner Carl Albert | ||
The 1974 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1974 that occurred in the wake of the Watergate scandal, which had forced President Richard Nixon to resign in favor of Gerald Ford. This scandal, along with high inflation, allowed the Democrats to make large gains in the midterm elections, taking 49 seats from the Republicans and increasing their majority above the two-thirds mark.
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Notable freshmen included future Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta and many future Senators: Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Paul Simon (D-Ill.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Paul Tsongas (D-Mass.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), Bob Krueger (D-Tex.), and Jim Jeffords (R-Vt., later Independent).
Future president Bill Clinton was the Democratic nominee for a district in Arkansas, but lost.
November elections
Key to party abbreviations: AI=American Independent, D=Democratic, I=Independent, PF=Peace and Freedom, R=Republican
Michigan
Since the last election, Vander Veen and Traxler had replaced Republican incumbents in special elections and Riegle had changed parties, so the net change in balance since the last election was five.