The 1918 United States House of Representatives elections were held November 5, 1918, which occurred in the middle of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

's second term. With the country in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(contrary to previous promises by Wilson), and Wilson's personal popularity ebbing, the Republicans gained 25 seats and took over control of the House from Wilson's Democrats. Internal divide among Democratic leadership over aspects related to payment of the war also decreased the unity of the party, which had been the organization's strength during the decade. The Progressive Party also disappeared, with its former members generally becoming Democrats. Minnesota's Farmer–Labor Party, a descendant of populism, also gained its very first seat.

Frederick H. Gillett Frederick Huntington Gillett (; October 16, 1851 – July 31, 1935) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts state government and both houses of the U.S. Congress between 1879 and 1931, including six years as Speaker of the Hous ...

(R-

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

) became

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

, and previous speaker

Champ Clark James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House from 1911 to 1919. Born in Kentucky, he establis ...

(D-

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

) became Minority Leader.

Background

was elected to the presidency in the 1912 presidential election and his victory in the 1916 election made him the first Democratic president to win reelection since

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

had in the 1832 election. Wilson's wheat policies aided in the Democratic defeat. The

Food and Fuel Control Act The Food and Fuel Control Act, , also called the Lever Act or the Lever Food Act was a World War I era US law that among other things created the United States Food Administration and the United States Fuel Administration. Legislative history Th ...

allowed for the cost of wheat to be set at a price control limit of $2.20 per bushel while other products like cotton were not. Wilson later vetoed an attempt by the Republicans to increase the limit to $2.40 per bushel. Republicans were more likely to gain seats in areas with higher amounts of wheat acreage with the Republicans gaining twenty-two seats in the ten highest wheat producing states while the Democrats only gained two seats. Wilson was also unable to aid the Democratic candidates before the election due to his preparations for involvement in the Paris Peace Conference.

Overall results

¹ One vacancy,

Victor L. Berger Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born in ...

, a member of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

, whom the House refused to seat.

Election summaries

Special elections

Sorted by election date, then by state/district.

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

This was the first election in which Idaho was divided into districts, formerly it had had a single at-large district with two seats.

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Non-voting delegates

Alaska Territory

As he had successfully done the previous time, Wickersham again contested the election. During the contest, Sulzer died April 28, 1919, and Democrat

George Barnes Grigsby George Barnes Grigsby (December 2, 1874 – May 9, 1962) was a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Territory of Alaska. Early life and education He was born in Sioux Falls, Dakota (now South Dakota), and was a so ...

won the June 5 special election to finish the term. Wickersham then won the election contest and was seated March 1, 1921.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{United States House of Representatives elections United States home front during World War I