176 seats 258 seats 54 54 51.9% 44.8% Start date November 8, 1994 | 230 204 36,569,698 31,609,829 6.8% 5.3% | |
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The 1994 United States House of Representatives election (also known as the Republican Revolution) was held on November 8, 1994, in the middle of President Bill Clinton's first term. As a result of a 54-seat swing in membership from Democrats to Republicans, the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the United States House of Representatives for the first time since 1952 and a majority of votes for the first time since 1946. It was also the largest seat gain for the Republican Party since 1946.
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The Democratic Party had run the House for all but four of the preceding 62 years. With help from the Harry and Louise television ads, the Republican party was able to unite the majority of Americans against President Clinton's proposed healthcare reform. Capitalizing on the negative perception Clinton received because of this push, the Republicans argued Clinton had abandoned the New Democrat platform he campaigned on during the 1992 Presidential election and united behind Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, which promoted immediate action on institutional reform and the decentralization of federal authority.
In a historic election, House Speaker Tom Foley (D-Washington) was defeated for re-election in his district, becoming the first Speaker of the House to fail to win re-election since Galusha Grow (R-Pennsylvania) during the 1862 midterm elections. Other major upsets included the defeat of powerful long-serving Representatives such as Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Illinois) and Judiciary Chairman Jack Brooks (D-Texas). In all, 34 incumbents (all Democrats) were defeated, though a few of them (like David Price of North Carolina and Ted Strickland of Ohio) regained seats in later elections; Maria Cantwell of Washington won a U.S. Senate race in 2000. Republicans also won some seats that were left open by retiring Democrats. Democrats won four Republican-held seats where the incumbents were stepping down (Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). Democrats who were elected in this situation included Rhode Island congressman and Kennedy family member Patrick J. Kennedy and future Maine governor John Baldacci. No Republican incumbent lost his or her seat in 1994.
Minority whip Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia), re-elected in the Republican landslide, became Speaker (previous Minority Leader Robert H. Michel having retired). The Majority Leader, Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) became Minority Leader. The new Republican Party (GOP) leadership in the House promised to bring a dozen legislative proposals to a vote in the first 100 days of the session, although the Senate did not always follow suit. A significant realigning election, the Solid South underwent a drastic transformation. Before the election, House Democrats outnumbered House Republicans. Afterwards, with the Republicans having picked up a total of 19 "Solid South" seats, they were able to outnumber Democrats for the first time since Reconstruction. The Republicans would go on to remain the majority party of the House for the following 12 years, until the 110th United States Congress following the 2006 midterm elections.
GOP gains, 1992–94
Source: Data from exit-poll surveys by Voter Research and Surveys and Mitofsky International published in the New York Times, November 13, 1994, p. 24.Religious right
Evangelicals were an important group within the electorate and a significant voting block in the Republican party. The national exit poll by Mitofsky International showed 27% of all voters identified themselves as a born-again or evangelical Christians, up from 18% in 1988 and 24% in 1992. Republican House candidates outpolled Democrats among white evangelicals by a massive 52 points, 76% to 24%.
According to a survey sponsored by the Christian Coalition, 33 percent of the 1994 voters were "religious conservatives," up from 24 percent in 1992 and 18 percent in 1988 (CQ Weekly Report), November 19, 1994, p. 3364; in the 1994 exit poll, 38 percent identified themselves as "conservatives," compared with 30 percent in 1992.
Incumbents defeated
Every Republican incumbent standing won re-election. Thirty-four incumbent Democrats (including 16 "freshmen") were defeated in 1994. Democrats from Washington lost the most seats (5).
Complete results
Key to party abbreviations: C=Constitution, D=Democratic, G=Green, I=Independent, IP=Independence Party, L=Libertarian, R=Republican, T=U.S. Taxpayers Party.