The 1984 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1984 which coincided with the re-election of President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in a landslide. This victory also yielded gains for Reagan's

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

in the House, where they picked up a net of sixteen seats from the Democratic Party. Despite Reagan's extremely large electoral victory, the Democrats nonetheless retained a commanding majority in the House and actually gained seats in the Senate. These elections were the last until 2020 when a member of a political party other than the Democrats, Republicans, or an independent had one or more seats in the chamber. This would be the last time for eight years that the Democrats experienced a net loss of seats in the House.

Overall results

Retiring incumbents

Twenty-two representatives retired. Sixteen of those seats were held by the same party, six seats changed party.

Democrats

Nine Democrats retired. Four of those seats were held by Democrats and five were won by Republicans.

Democratic held

# :

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by

Kenneth J. Gray Kenneth James Gray (November 14, 1924 – July 12, 2014) was an American businessman and politician. He was a veteran of World War II, and represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives from 1955 to 1974, and again from 1985 ...

. # : James Shannon: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by

Chester G. Atkins Chester Greenough Atkins (born April 14, 1948) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from Massachusetts. Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1948, he graduated from Conco ...

. # : Geraldine Ferraro: to run for Vice President. Was succeeded by

Thomas J. Manton Thomas J. Manton (November 3, 1932 – July 22, 2006) was an American politician who represented the 9th and 7th Congressional District of New York in the United States House of Representatives Early life and education Born in New York City, ...

. # :

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by Bart Gordon.

Republican gain

# :

Raymond P. Kogovsek Raymond Peter Kogovsek (; August 19, 1941 – April 30, 2017) was an U.S. Representative from Colorado for three terms from 1979 to 1985. Early life and education Born in Pueblo, Colorado, Kogovsek graduated from Pueblo Catholic High School, 1 ...

. Was succeeded by

Michael L. Strang Michael Lathrop "Mike" Strang (June 17, 1929 – January 12, 2014) was an American politician who was a one-term Republican U.S. Representative from Colorado from 1985 to 1987. Early life Born in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Strang was the gran ...

. # : Tom Harkin: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by Jim Ross Lightfoot. # :

Norman D'Amours Norman Edward D'Amours (born October 14, 1937) is an American Democratic politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire from 1975 to 1985. Early life Born in Holyoke, Hampden County, Massachuset ...

: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by

Robert C. Smith Robert Clinton Smith (born March 30, 1941) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for New Hampshire's 1st congressional district from 1985 to 1990 and the state of New Hampshire in the Unit ...

. # : Richard Ottinger. Was succeeded by

Joseph J. DioGuardi Joseph John DioGuardi (; born September 20, 1940) is an American certified public accountant and a Republican politician. DioGuardi served in the House of Representatives representing the 20th Congressional district of New York from 1985 to 19 ...

. # : Kent Hance: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by Larry Combest.

Republicans

Twelve Republicans retired. Eleven of those seats were held by Republicans and one was won by a Democrat.

Republican held

# : Jack Edwards. Was succeeded by Sonny Callahan. # :

John N. Erlenborn John Neal Erlenborn (February 8, 1927 – October 30, 2005) was an American lawyer and a former Republican member of the U.S. Congressional Delegations from Illinois, representing the 14th (then after 1980s redistricting the 13th) district. ...

. Was succeeded by

Harris W. Fawell Harris Walter Fawell (March 25, 1929 – November 11, 2021) was an American politician from Illinois who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1985 to 1999. Early life and career Fawell was a graduate of ...

. # : Tom Corcoran: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by

John E. Grotberg John E. Grotberg (March 21, 1925 – November 15, 1986) was a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois serving from 1985 until his death from bronchial pneumonia and colon ca ...

. # :

Larry Winn Edward Lawrence Winn Jr. (August 22, 1919 – December 31, 2017) was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Kansas's 3rd district from 1967 to 1985. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in ...

. Was succeeded by

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 ...

. # :

Harold S. Sawyer Harold Samuel Sawyer (March 21, 1920 – April 2, 2003) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sawyer represented Michigan's 5th congressional district in the United ...

. Was succeeded by

Paul B. Henry Paul Brentwood Henry (July 9, 1942 – July 31, 1993) was an American professor of political science and politician from Michigan. He was elected to five terms and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 until his death from b ...

. # : Barber Conable. Was succeeded by

Fred J. Eckert Fred J. Eckert (born May 6, 1941) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 30th congressional district for one term. A friend and political ally of Ronald Reaga ...

. # : James G. Martin: to run for Governor of North Carolina. Was succeeded by Alex McMillan. # :

Phil Gramm William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942) is an American economist and politician who represented Texas in both chambers of Congress. Though he began his political career as a Democrat, Gramm switched to the Republican Party in 1983. Gramm was ...

: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by Joe Barton. # :

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 ...

: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by Tom DeLay. # : David Daniel Marriott: to run for Governor of Utah. Was succeeded by

David Smith Monson David Smith Monson (born June 20, 1945) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative and the second Lieutenant Governor of Utah. He is a member of the Republican Party. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Monson attended public schools. ...

. # :

J. Kenneth Robinson James Kenneth Robinson (May 14, 1916 – April 8, 1990) was a State Senator and U.S. Representative from Virginia. Early life Born in Winchester, Virginia, Robinson attended the city's public schools, including Handley High School. He grad ...

. Was succeeded by D. French Slaughter Jr. # :

Joel Pritchard Joel McFee Pritchard (May 5, 1925 – October 9, 1997) was an American businessman and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Washington as a member of the Republican party. Pritchard al ...

. Was succeeded by John Miller.

Democratic gain

# :

Ed Bethune Edwin Ruthvin Bethune Jr. (born December 19, 1935), known as Ed Bethune, is an American lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, D.C., who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas from 1979-1985. Early years ...

: to run for U.S. Senate. Was succeeded by

Tommy F. Robinson Tommy Franklin Robinson (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman, lobbyist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1985 to 1991. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before he was elected to Congress, Robinson ...

Defeated incumbents

In primary election

Democrats

Three Democrats lost renomination. # : Katie Hall lost to challenger Pete Visclosky. # :

Frank G. Harrison Frank Girard Harrison (February 2, 1940 – June 1, 2009) was a one-term Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Harrison was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He g ...

lost to challenger

Paul E. Kanjorski Paul Edmund Kanjorski (born April 2, 1937) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1985 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district included the cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton, as ...

. # : Abraham Kazen lost to challenger

Albert Bustamante Albert Garza Bustamante (April 8, 1935 – November 30, 2021) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 23rd district. A Democrat, he served as a member and one-time Cha ...

In the general election

Democrats

Thirteen Democrats lost re-election. #:

James F. McNulty Jr. James Francis McNulty Jr. (October 18, 1925 – June 30, 2009) was a one-term congressman and U.S. politician hailing from the Democratic party. He served as the U.S. representative from Arizona's 5th congressional district. He was born in Bo ...

lost to Jim Kolbe. #:

Jerry M. Patterson Jerry Mumford Patterson (born October 25, 1934) is an American lawyer in California and the District of Columbia, educator and politician, who was a five-term United States Representative from California, serving from 1975 to 1985. Early life, e ...

lost to Bob Dornan. #:

William R. Ratchford William Richard Ratchford (May 24, 1934 – January 2, 2011) was an American politician from Connecticut. He served six terms in the Connecticut House of Representatives, including two as speaker, and three terms in the United States House of Rep ...

lost to

John G. Rowland John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) is an American politician, author, and convicted felon who served as the 86th Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004. He served two nonconsecutive prison terms on various corruption charges. A Repu ...

. #: Elliott H. Levitas lost to

Pat Swindall Patrick Lynn Swindall (October 18, 1950 – July 11, 2018) was an American politician, attorney, and businessman who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Repre ...

. #:

Clarence Long Clarence Dickinson "Doc" Long, Jr. (December 11, 1908 – September 18, 1994) was a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States House of Representatives, U.S. Congressman who represented the Maryland's 2nd congressional district, ...

lost to Helen Delich Bentley. #:

Donald J. Albosta Donald Joseph Albosta (December 5, 1925 – December 18, 2014) was an American farmer, businessman, and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985. Most n ...

lost to Bill Schuette. #:

Joseph Minish Joseph George Minish (September 1, 1916 – November 24, 2007) was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who represented in the United States House of Representatives. Early life Born in Throop, Pennsylvania, Minish was t ...

lost to Dean Gallo. #:

Ike Franklin Andrews Ike Franklin Andrews (September 2, 1925 – May 10, 2010) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's Fourth Congressional District between 1973 and 1985, when he was defeated for reelection b ...

lost to Bill Cobey. #:

Charles Robin Britt Charles Robin Britt (born June 29, 1942) is a former one-term congressmen, Member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 6th congressional district. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served one term fro ...

lost to Howard Coble. #: James M. Clarke lost to

Bill Hendon William Martin Hendon (November 9, 1944 – June 20, 2018) was an American author, POW/MIA activist, and two-term Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 11th District. Political career In 1980, Hendon ousted two-term incumbent Demo ...

. #:

Jack Hightower Jack English Hightower (September 6, 1926 – August 3, 2013) was a former Democratic U.S. representative from Texas's 13th congressional district. Early life Born in Memphis, the seat of Hall County in West Texas, Hightower was a United States ...

lost to

Beau Boulter Eldon Beau Boulter (born February 23, 1942) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 13th district of Texas. Boulter was born in El Paso, Texas. He and his fam ...

. #: William Neff Patman lost to

Mac Sweeney David McCann "Mac" Sweeney (born September 15, 1955) is a Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. Born in Wharton in Wharton County west of Houston, Sweeney earned his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doct ...

. #: Tom Vandergriff lost to Dick Armey.

Republicans

Three Republicans lost re-election. #: George V. Hansen lost to

Richard H. Stallings Richard Howard Stallings (born October 7, 1940) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Idaho's 2nd congressional district from 1985 to 1993. Early life and education Richard Stallings ...

. #: Dan Crane lost to

Terry L. Bruce Terry Lee Bruce (born March 25, 1944) is an American politician, lawyer, and educator from Illinois. Early life Bruce was born in Olney, Illinois on March 25, 1944. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and then later the Un ...

. #:

Lyle Williams Lyle Williams (August 23, 1942 – November 7, 2008) was an American politician who served three terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1979 to 1985. Biography Williams was born in Philippi, West Virginia to Dale and Frankie (Ice) William ...

lost to

Jim Traficant Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James (given name), James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy (given name), Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * Jim (comics), ...

Special elections

There were three special elections to the 98th Congress in 1984, two of which were held on the same day as the general election for the next term. Elections are sorted here by date then district.

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

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

, - , , Les Aspin , , Democratic ,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , ,

Robert Kastenmeier Robert William Kastenmeier (January 24, 1924March 20, 2015) was an American Democratic politician who represented central Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives for 32 years, from 1959 until 1991. He was a key sponsor of the Co ...

, , Democratic ,

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , ,

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 ...

, , Republican ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , , Jerry Kleczka , , Democratic ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , ,

Jim Moody James Powers Moody (September 2, 1935March 22, 2019) was an American economist and Democratic politician. He served five terms as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 5th congressional district (1983–1993). At the time, the 5th cong ...

, , Democratic ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , , Tom Petri , , Republican , 1979 , Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , , Dave Obey , , Democratic , 1969 , Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , ,

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 ...

, , Republican ,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap , , - , ,

Jim Sensenbrenner Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr. (; born June 14, 1943) is an American politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2021 (numbered as the 9th district until 2003). He is a member of the Republican Party. ...

, , Republican ,

, Incumbent re-elected. , nowrap ,

Wyoming

Notes

References

*
Federal Elections 84: Election Results for U.S. President, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives
'. Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. 1985. pp. 27–118. Archived fro
the original
on November 5, 2021. {{1984 United States elections

Overall results

Retiring incumbents

Democrats

Democratic held

Republican gain

Republicans

Republican held

Democratic gain

Defeated incumbents

In primary election

Democrats

In the general election

Democrats

Republicans

Special elections

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

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

See also

Notes

References