The 1978 United States elections were held on November 7, 1978, and elected the members of the 96th United States Congress. The election occurred in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term. The Democrats lost fifteen seats to the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. The Democrats also lost three seats in the U.S. Senate to the Republicans. In the gubernatorial elections, Republicans picked up six seats. Among the newly elected governors was future president Bill Clinton from Arkansas.
Though Republicans won a relatively modest midterm victory, the election set the stage for the Reagan Revolution. Many of the newly elected members of Congress were more conservative than their predecessors, and most supported tax cuts that would eventually be implemented in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. The election also ended the possibility of a ratification of the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union. Carter's move to the center after this election encouraged a 1980 Democratic primary challenge by Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Future Texas governor and president George W. Bush ran for a House seat as the Republican nominee in his state's 19th congressional district, but lost.