The 1954 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1954 which occurred in the middle of President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's first term. Eisenhower's Republican Party lost eighteen seats in the House, giving the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

a majority that it would retain in every House election until

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. , this is the last time the House changed partisan control in two cycles in a row. Perhaps the major reason for the Republican defeat was the

backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

against the Army-McCarthy Hearings, in which prominent Republican Senator

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

accused countless political and intellectual figures of having

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

ties, usually with no evidence. Another issue was the Dixon-Yates contract to supply power to the Atomic Energy Commission.

Sam Rayburn Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn (January 6, 1882 – November 16, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 43rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was a three-time House speaker, former House majority leader, two-time ...

of Texas became

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

, exchanging places with new Minority Leader

Joseph W. Martin Jr. Joseph William Martin Jr. (November 3, 1884 – March 6, 1968) was an American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 44th speaker of the United Sta ...

of Massachusetts; they went back to what they had been before the 1952 elections.

Overall results

September elections

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Of the thirty races, two incumbents retired and were replaced by new members from their party; one Republican lost re-election to a Democrat and one Democrat lost re-election to a Republican; and twenty six incumbents were re-elected.

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

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

References

* Bean Louis, ''Influences in the 1954 Mid-Term Elections.'' Washington: Public Affairs Institute, 1954 {{DEFAULTSORT:United States House Of Representatives Elections, 1954 November 1954 events in the United States