A wave election is a term from political science describing major gains made by a political party. Although there is no precise definition of what constitutes a wave election, the term is used in the United States when one party makes major gains in the House and Senate. The term has also been applied outside of the United States. In India, which has a parliamentary system, the term is used when one party makes major gains in parliament.
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Wave elections in the United States
Political analyst Charlie Cook describes wave elections as the result of a "overarching, nationwide dynamic," such as a high or low Presidential approval rating, economic conditions, and scandals. Cook contrasts wave elections with "micro-elections" in which neither party makes significant gains, and candidates, local issues, and other factors not strictly related to party alignment have a stronger role than in wave elections. Although several wave elections may occur in a row, wave elections are usually considered to be the exception rather than the norm. A pick-up of 20 seats in the House has been used as a cut-off point by analysts such as Stuart Rothenberg. However, political scientist Dan Hopkins has argued that the term has little utility in understanding elections and that there is no clear cut-off point between a wave election and other elections.
Congressional incumbents in the United States enjoy an electoral advantage over challengers, but a wave election often boosts challengers, resulting in many more incumbents losing than usual during wave elections. A wave election can put into play seats that would otherwise be considered safe for the party holding the seat, and help even flawed challengers defeat incumbents. Since at least 1954, wave elections have always benefited one party at the expense of the other, but the term has also been used to describe a hypothetical scenario in which numerous incumbents from both parties lose their seats. The first election after redistricting is often a wave election, since many incumbents are less firmly rooted in their districts following redistricting, and many other incumbents retire or suffer primary defeats.
A wave election may also be a realigning election, and a wave election could also be concurrent with a landslide election, although in the United States, the latter term usually refers to decisive victories in Presidential contests. Many wave elections occur during midterm elections, with the party out of power picking up seats. A common pattern involves a party with a victorious Presidential candidate benefiting from a wave election, followed by the opposing party winning a wave election in the next mid-term election.
Since World War II, ten of the fifteen wave elections were mid-term elections, with each such election benefiting the party not in the White House. Three of the post-World War II wave elections coincided with a party taking back the White House from the other party. The remaining two wave elections coincided with Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson winning their first full terms.
List of wave elections in the United States
In the following elections, one party gained twenty or more seats in the House, picked up at least one seat in the Senate, and did not lose a Presidential election. Years in which significant gains were realized by both parties due to an increase in the size of the House or Senate are not included.