The 1996 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the
United States House of Representatives on November 5, 1996, which coincided with the re-election of
President Bill Clinton. Democrats won the popular vote by almost 60,000 votes (0.07%) and gained a net of two
seats from the Republicans, but the Republicans retained an overall majority of seats in the House for the first time since
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
.
Although the Republicans lost 3 seats, 1 of them included an Independent who would caucus with them and switch to the Republicans. This resulted in a 227 Republican majority to the Democrats' 208 minority which also included an Independent caucusing with them. A total of 12 Freshman Republicans who were elected in the 1994
Republican Revolution
The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. mid-term elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of ...
were defeated in the election. The election is similar to the
1952 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1952.
* 1952 Chilean presidential election
* 1952 Dahomeyan Territorial Assembly election
* 1952 Dutch general election
* 1952 Gabonese legislative election
* 1952 Greek legislative election
* 1952 Ic ...
, although, in terms of the total vote this result remains one of the closest in U.S. history.
This remains the last election in which Republicans won a majority of seats in the New Jersey delegation.
Special elections
Results summary
Source
Election Statistics – Office of the Clerk
Retiring incumbents
50 incumbents retired: 29 Democrats and 21 Republicans, giving the Republicans a net gain of 6 seats from the Democrats.
Democrats
Democratic hold
# :
Blanche Lincoln
# :
Ray Thornton
# :
Anthony Beilenson
Anthony Charles Beilenson (October 26, 1932 – March 5, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic Congressman from Southern California. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 un ...
# :
Pat Schroeder
Patricia Nell Scott Schroeder (born July 30, 1940) is an American politician who represented Colorado in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Schroeder was the first female U.S. Repres ...
# :
Pete Peterson
# :
Sam Gibbons
# :
Harry Johnston
# :
Cardiss Collins
# :
Andrew Jacobs Jr.
Andrew Jacobs Jr. (February 24, 1932 – December 28, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as an Indiana state legislator and Congressman. Jacobs was a member of the United States House of Representatives for thir ...
# :
Gerry Studds
# :
Robert Torricelli, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP.
Rose also co-an ...
# :
Jack Reed, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Harold Ford Sr.
Harold Eugene Ford Sr. (born May 20, 1945) is an American politician and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives representing the area of Memphis, Tennessee, for 11 terms—from 197 ...
# :
Jim Chapman, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Charlie Wilson Charles, Charlie, Charley, or Chuck Wilson may refer to:
Entertainment
* Charles Heath Wilson (1809–1882), Anglo-Scottish painter, art teacher and author
* Charles C. Wilson (1894–1948), American film actor
* Charles Banks Wilson (1918–2013) ...
# :
Kika de la Garza
Eligio "Kika" de la Garza II (September 22, 1927March 13, 2017) was an American politician who served as the Democratic representative for the 15th congressional district of Texas from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1997.
Biography
De la Garza ...
# :
Ronald D. Coleman
# :
Lewis F. Payne Jr.
Republican gain
# :
Glen Browder
John Glen Browder (born January 15, 1943) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama's 3rd congressional district. Browder was born in Sumter, South Carolina and graduated in 1961 from Edmunds High School in ...
, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Tom Bevill
# :
Dick Durbin, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Cleo Fields
# :
Sonny Montgomery
Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery (August 5, 1920 – May 12, 2006) was an American soldier and politician from Mississippi who served in the Mississippi Senate and U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1997. He was also a retired major genera ...
# :
Rick Hill
# :
William K. Brewster
William Kent Brewster (November 8, 1941 – October 3, 2022) was an American pharmacist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Brewster was a U.S. Congressman from from 1991 to 1997 and served in the Oklahoma House of Representat ...
# :
Tim Johnson, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
John Bryant, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Pete Geren
Republicans
Republican hold
# :
Tim Hutchinson, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Carlos Moorhead
# :
Wayne Allard, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
John Myers
# :
Pat Roberts, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Sam Brownback, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Jan Meyers
Janice Lenore Meyers ( née Crilly; July 20, 1928 – June 21, 2019) was an American Republican party politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas.
Biography
Meyers was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. She attended ...
# :
Mel Hancock
# :
Barbara Vucanovich
Barbara Farrell Vucanovich (June 22, 1921 – June 10, 2013) was an American Republican politician who was the first Latina elected to the United States House of Representatives, in which she served representing Nevada from 1983 to 1997.
Ba ...
# :
Bill Zeliff, to
run for Governor
# :
Dick Zimmer, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Wes Cooley
# :
Bill Clinger
# :
Robert Smith Walker
Robert Smith Walker (born December 23, 1942) is a former American politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican from 1977 until his retirement in 1997. He was known for his fiery rhetoric ...
# :
Jimmy Quillen
# :
Jack Fields
Jack Milton Fields Jr. (born February 3, 1952) is a Texas businessman and a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from a Houston-based district.
Early life
Fields was born in Humble, a northern suburb of Hous ...
# :
Enid Greene
Enid Greene Mickelsen, formerly Enid Greene Waldholtz (born June 5, 1958), is an American politician from the state of Utah who served one term in the United States House of Representatives. She was the third woman and first Republican woman elec ...
Democratic gain
# :
Jim Ross Lightfoot, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Jimmy Hayes, to
run for U.S. Senator
# :
Steve Gunderson
Steven Craig Gunderson (born May 10, 1951) is an American former politician who was a Republican U.S. Representative for representing Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district from 1981 to 1997, when he was succeeded by Democrat Ron Kind. After lea ...
# :
Toby Roth
Tobias Anton "Toby" Roth (born October 10, 1938) is a former Republican U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.
Roth represented Wisconsin's 8th congressional district
Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a congressional district of th ...
Incumbents defeated
In primary elections
Democrats
# :
Barbara-Rose Collins lost to
Carolyn Kilpatrick
Carolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (born June 25, 1945) is a former American politician who was U.S. Representative for from 1997 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In August 2010 she lost the Democratic primary election to Hansen Cl ...
, who later won the general election
Republicans
# :
Greg Laughlin lost to
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...
, who later won the general election
In the general elections
21 seats switched parties in the November elections, giving the Democrats a net gain of 15 seats from the Republicans.
Democrats who lost to Republicans
# :
Mike Ward lost to
Anne Northup
# :
Harold Volkmer
Harold Lee Volkmer (April 4, 1931 – April 16, 2011) was an American politician from Missouri. He was a Democrat who served 20 years in the United States House of Representatives.
Early life and career
Volkmer grew up in Jefferson City, Missour ...
lost to
Kenny Hulshof
# :
Bill Orton
William Orton (September 22, 1948 – April 18, 2009) was an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Utah from 1991 to 1997.
Biography
Early life and education
Born in North Ogd ...
lost to
Chris Cannon
Republicans who lost to Democrats
# :
William P. Baker
William Pond Baker (born June 14, 1940, in Oakland, California) is an American businessman and politician who served two terms as a United States Congressman from California from 1993 to 1997.
Biography
He attended San Jose State University, ...
lost to
Ellen Tauscher
# :
Andrea Seastrand lost to
Walter Capps
Walter Holden Capps (May 5, 1934 – October 28, 1997) was an American academic and politician. He served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing California's 22nd congressional district from January 1 ...
# :
Bob Dornan lost to
Loretta Sanchez
Loretta Lorna Sanchez (born January 7, 1960) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected in 1996, when she defeated long-serving Repu ...
# :
Gary Franks lost to
James H. Maloney
# :
Michael Patrick Flanagan
Michael Patrick Flanagan (born November 9, 1962) is a former captain in the United States Army, a practicing attorney, and a Republican Party politician from Chicago, Illinois.
Flanagan is best known for his victory over eighteen-term Congress ...
lost to
Rod Blagojevich
Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...
# :
James B. Longley Jr.
James Bernard Longley Jr. (born July 7, 1951) is an American politician from Maine. A U.S. Republican Party, Republican, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives representing Maine's 1st congressional district, Maine's 1st ...
lost to
Tom Allen
# :
Peter I. Blute
Peter I. Blute (born January 28, 1956) is a former American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He served two terms, between January 3, 1993, and January 3, 1997, representing Massachusetts ...
lost to
Jim McGovern
# :
Peter G. Torkildsen
Peter Gerard Torkildsen (born January 28, 1958) is an American Republican Party politician from Massachusetts. He represented the 13th Essex district, including his hometown of Danvers, in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1985 ...
lost to
John F. Tierney
# :
Dick Chrysler
Richard "Dick" Chrysler (born April 29, 1942) is an Amway distributor and former politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.
Chrysler was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and graduated from Brighton High School in Brighton, Michigan. He became vi ...
lost to
Debbie Stabenow
# :
William J. Martini
William John Martini (born February 10, 1947 in Passaic, New Jersey) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, having been in active service from November 14, 2002, to February 10, ...
lost to
Bill Pascrell
William James Pascrell Jr. (born January 25, 1937) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served in this position since January 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and a native of Paterson, New Jersey, Pascrel ...
# :
Dan Frisa
Daniel Frisa (born April 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and former Republican politician. He was a United States Congressman and a state legislator from New York.
Born in Queens, New York, Frisa attended East Meadow, New York, public schools a ...
lost to
Carolyn McCarthy
Carolyn McCarthy ( Cook; born January 5, 1944) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Par ...
# :
David Funderburk lost to
Bob Etheridge
# :
Fred Heineman lost to
David Price in a rematch of the 1994 election.
# :
Frank Cremeans lost to
Ted Strickland
# :
Martin Hoke lost to
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...
# :
Jim Bunn lost to
Darlene Hooley
# :
Steve Stockman
Stephen Ernest Stockman (born November 14, 1956) is an American politician who is a member of the Republican Party and a convicted felon. He served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 9th congressional district from 1995 to 1997 and for Texas' ...
lost to
Nick Lampson
# :
Randy Tate lost to
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
*Jo Ann Emerson was elected as a Republican in a special to serve the remaining months of the term and was elected as an Independent caucusing with Republicans due to Missouri state law. She later switched to the Republican Party a few days after the start of the new Congress.
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
, these were the last elections in which the Republican Party won a majority of congressional districts from
Washington.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
See also
*
104th United States Congress
The 104th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 199 ...
*
105th United States Congress
The 105th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997, ...
Notes
References
{{United States House of Representatives elections