November 3, 1998 2000 → 223 211 32,237,964 31,490,298 Start date February 3, 1998 | 227 seats 206 seats 4 5 48.4% 47.3% | |
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Winner Dennis Hastert | ||
The 1998 United States House of Representatives elections were part of the midterm elections held during President Bill Clinton's second term. They were a major disappointment to the Republican Party, which was expecting to gain seats due to the embarrassment Clinton suffered during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and the "six-year itch" effect observed in most second-term midterm elections. However, the Republican lost five seats to the Democratic Party, but retained a narrow majority in the House. A wave of Republican discontent with Speaker Newt Gingrich prompted him to resign shortly after the election; he was replaced by Congressman Dennis Hastert of Illinois.
Contents
- Democrats
- Republicans
- Republicans who lost to a Republican challenger
- Democrats who lost to a Republican challenger
- Republicans who lost to a Democratic challenger
- Separate elections
- November elections
- References
The campaign was marked by Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton, with Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr having released his report on the Lewinsky scandal and House leaders having initiated an inquiry into whether impeachable offenses had occurred. However, exit polls indicated that most voters opposed impeaching Clinton, and predictions of high Republican or low Democratic turnout due to the scandal failed to materialize. Some speculate that the losses reflected a backlash against the Republicans for attacking the popular President Clinton. With the GOP having lost 5 House seats and failing to gain any seats in the Senate, it was the first time since 1934 that the non-presidential party failed to gain congressional seats in a mid-term election. It was also the first time since 1822 that the non-presidential party had failed to gain seats in the mid-term election of a President's second term.
Seats picked up by the Democrats included Kansas's 3rd district, Nevada's 1st district, Pennsylvania's 13th district, New Mexico's 3rd district, New Jersey's 12th district, Kentucky's 4th district, Mississippi's 4th district, California's 1st district, Wisconsin's 2nd district, Washington's 1st district, and Washington's 3rd district. The Republicans, however, picked up seats in Kentucky's 6th district, Wisconsin's 8th district, California's 3rd district, California's 36th district, Pennsylvania's 15th district, and North Carolina's 8th district.
Democrats
- California's 3rd congressional district: Vic Fazio
- California's 34th congressional district: Esteban Edward Torres
- California's 36th congressional district: Jane Harman: To run for Governor
- Colorado's 2nd congressional district: David Skaggs
- Connecticut's 1st congressional district: Barbara Kennelly: To run for Governor
- Illinois's 9th congressional district: Sidney Yates
- Illinois's 19th congressional district: Glenn Poshard: To run for Governor
- Indiana's 9th congressional district: Lee H. Hamilton
- Kentucky's 6th congressional district: Scotty Baesler: To run for U.S. Senate
- Massachusetts's 8th congressional district: Joseph P. Kennedy II
- New York's 7th congressional district: Thomas J. Manton
- New York's 9th congressional district: Charles Schumer: To run for U.S. Senate
- North Carolina's 8th congressional district: Bill Hefner
- Ohio's 11th congressional district: Louis Stokes
- Oregon's 1st congressional district: Elizabeth Furse
- Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district: Paul McHale
- Texas's 20th congressional district: Henry Gonzalez
Republicans
- California's 1st congressional district: Frank Riggs: To run for U.S. Senate
- Colorado's 6th congressional district: Daniel Schaefer
- Idaho's 2nd congressional district: Mike Crapo: To run for U.S. Senate
- Illinois's 13th congressional district: Harris Fawell
- Kentucky's 4th congressional district: Jim Bunning: To run for U.S. Senate
- Mississippi's 4th congressional district: Mike Parker: To run for Governor
- Nebraska's 2nd congressional district: Jon L. Christensen: To run for Governor
- Nevada's 1st congressional district: John Ensign: To run for U.S. Senate
- New York's 22nd congressional district: Gerald B.H. Solomon
- New York's 27th congressional district: Bill Paxon
- Oregon's 2nd congressional district: Robert Freeman Smith
- Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district: Joe McDade
- South Carolina's 4th congressional district: Bob Inglis: To run for U.S. Senate
- Washington's 3rd congressional district: Linda Smith: To run for U.S. Senate
- Wisconsin's 1st congressional district: Mark Neumann: To run for U.S. Senate
- Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district: Scott Klug
Republicans who lost to a Republican challenger
- California's 41st congressional district: Jay Kim, lost to Gary Miller who later won the general election
Democrats who lost to a Republican challenger
- Wisconsin's 8th congressional district: Jay W. Johnson, lost to Mark Green
Republicans who lost to a Democratic challenger
- Kansas's 3rd congressional district: Vince Snowbarger, lost to Dennis Moore
- New Jersey's 12th congressional district: Mike Pappas, lost to Rush D. Holt, Jr.
- New Mexico's 3rd congressional district: Bill Redmond, lost to Tom Udall
- Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district: Jon D. Fox, lost to Joe Hoeffel
- Washington's 1st congressional district: Rick White, lost to Jay Inslee
Separate elections
Five special elections were held apart from those in November. The elected winners would serve the remainder of the incumbent Congress and face re-election in November.
November elections
Key to party abbreviations: AI=American Independent, C=Constitution, D=Democratic, G=Green, I=Independent, IP=Independence Party, L=Libertarian, R=Republican, T=U.S. Taxpayers Party, SW=Socialist Workers Party, Ref=Reform Party PF=Peace and Freedom, NL=Natural Law Party