1994 United States House Of Representatives Elections

The 1994 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 1994, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 104th United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of President Bill Clinton's first term. In what was known as the Republican Revolution, a 54-seat swing in membership from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party resulted in the latter gaining a majority of seats in the House of Representatives for the first time since 1952. It was also the largest seat gain for the party since 1946, and the largest for either party since 1948, and characterized a political realignment in American politics.

Democrats had run the House since 1955, and for all but four years ( 1947–49 and 1953–55) since 1931. In 1994, the Republican Party ran against President Clinton's proposed healthcare reform. The Republicans argued that Clinton had abandoned the centrist New Democrat platform he campaigned on during the 1992 presidential election and reverted to big government solutions. The GOP ran on Newt Gingrich's Contract with America.

The incumbent Speaker of the House, Democrat Tom Foley, lost re-election in his district, becoming the first sitting speaker to be defeated since Galusha Grow in 1863. Other major upsets included the defeat of powerful long-serving representatives such as Ways and Means chairman Dan Rostenkowski and Judiciary chairman Jack Brooks. In total, 34 incumbents, all Democrats, were defeated. Republicans also won a number of seats held by retiring Democrats. No Republican incumbents lost re-election, but Democrats won four open Republican-held seats. NFL Hall of Famer Steve Largent was elected in Oklahoma and singer Sonny Bono was elected in California.

Robert H. Michel, the Republican minority leader, chose to retire due to pressure from the more conservative members of the Republican caucus. Dick Cheney had served as the Minority Whip and Michel supported having Edward Rell Madigan replace him, but the position was instead given to Gingrich, who would later be selected to become speaker. The incumbent Democratic majority leader, Dick Gephardt, became minority leader. The new House leadership, under the Republicans, promised to bring a dozen legislative proposals to a vote in the first 100 days of the session, although the U.S. Senate did not always follow suit.

In a significant political realignment, the South underwent a dramatic transformation. Before the election, House Democrats outnumbered House Republicans in the South. Afterwards, with the Republicans having picked up a total of 19 Southern seats, they were able to outnumber Democrats in the South for the first time since Reconstruction. The Republicans would go on to remain the majority party of the House for the following 12 years, until the 2006 elections. The Republicans have won at least 200 seats in almost every House election since, with the exceptions of 2008 and 2018. , this is the last congressional election in which Democrats won a House seat in Montana, as well as the last time Republicans won any House seats in Massachusetts.

Voting patterns

Republican gains, 1992–1994

:Source: Data from exit-poll surveys by Voter Research and Surveys and Mitofsky International published in ''The New York Times'', November 13, 1994, p. 24.

Religious right

Evangelicals were an important group within the electorate and a significant voting block in the Republican party. The national exit poll by Mitofsky International showed 27% of all voters identified themselves as a born-again or evangelical Christians, up from 18% in 1988 and 24% in 1992. Republican House candidates outpolled Democrats among white evangelicals by a massive 52 points, 76% to 24%.

According to a survey sponsored by the Christian Coalition, 33 percent of the 1994 voters were "religious conservatives," up from 24 percent in 1992 and 18 percent in 1988 (''CQ Weekly Report''), November 19, 1994, p. 3364; in the 1994 exit poll, 38 percent identified themselves as "conservatives," compared with 30 percent in 1992.''Hotline'', November 12, 1994.

Party identification and ideology by selected religious groups 1994

:Source: Mitofsky International exit poll in Klinkner, p. 121.

Overall results

Ross Perot's organization United We Stand America issued a report card for each member of Congress. 169 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and one independent received a failing grade. Perot went on ''Larry King Live'' in October and called for the Democrats to lose their majority in the U.S. House. He endorsed the Republican opponent of Speaker Tom Foley.

Source
Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Maps

File:1994 US House of Representatives Election by States.svg, Popular vote by states
File:1994 House Results by winners share of vote.svg, House results shaded by winners share of vote
File:104 us house membership.png, House seats by party holding plurality in state
File:104 us house changes.png, Net changes to U.S. House seats after the 1994 elections

Incumbents defeated

In primary elections

Democrats

* : Mike Synar lost to Virgil R. Cooper, who later lost the general election to Republican Tom Coburn
* : Lucien E. Blackwell lost to Chaka Fattah, who later won the general election
* : Craig Washington lost to Sheila Jackson Lee, who later won the general election

Republicans

* : David A. Levy lost to Dan Frisa, who later won the general election

In the general elections

Democrats

Thirty-four incumbent Democrats (including 16 "freshmen") were defeated in 1994. Democrats from Washington lost the most seats (5).

* : Karan English
* : Dan Hamburg
* : Richard H. Lehman
* : Lynn Schenk
* : George Darden
* : Don Johnson Jr.
* : Larry LaRocco
* : Dan Rostenkowski
* : Jill Long
* : Frank McCloskey
* : Neal Edward Smith
* : Dan Glickman
* : Thomas Barlow
* : Peter Hoagland
* : James Bilbray
* : Richard Swett
* : Herb Klein
* : George J. Hochbrueckner
* : Martin Lancaster
* : David Price
* : David S. Mann
* : Ted Strickland
* : Eric Fingerhut
* : Marjorie Margolies
* : Jack Brooks
* : Bill Sarpalius
* : Karen Shepherd
* : Leslie Byrne
* : Maria Cantwell
* : Jolene Unsoeld
* : Jay Inslee
* : Tom Foley
* : Mike Kreidler
* : Peter W. Barca

Republicans

* None.

Open seats that changed parties

Democratic seats won by Republicans

22 open seats previously held by Democrats were won by Republicans.

* : Matt Salmon
* : Joe Scarborough
* : Dave Weldon
* : Saxby Chambliss
* : Jerry Weller
* : David M. McIntosh
* : Sam Brownback
* : James B. Longley Jr.
* : Dick Chrysler
* : Gil Gutknecht
* : Roger Wicker
* : Frank LoBiondo
* : David Funderburk
* : Richard Burr
* : Bob Ney
* : Tom Coburn
* : J. C. Watts
* : Jim Bunn
* : Lindsey Graham
* : Zach Wamp
* : Van Hilleary
* : Jack Metcalf

Republican seats won by Democrats

Democrats won four open seats previously held by Republicans.

* : John Baldacci
* : Bill Luther
* : Mike Doyle
* : Patrick J. Kennedy

Open seats that parties held

Democratic seats held

Democrats held nine of their open seats.

* : Zoe Lofgren
* : Mike Ward
* : Lynn Rivers
* : Karen McCarthy
* : Chaka Fattah
* : Frank Mascara
* : Lloyd Doggett
* : Sheila Jackson Lee
* : Ken Bentsen Jr.

Republican seats held

Republicans held 17 of their open seats.

* : John Shadegg
* : Andrea Seastrand
* : Sonny Bono
* : Mark Foley
* : Ray LaHood
* : Tom Latham
* : Bob Ehrlich
* : Rodney Frelinghuysen
* : Dan Frisa
* : Sue Kelly
* : Sue Myrick
* : Steve Largent
* : Wes Cooley
* : Phil English
* : Mark Sanford
* : Ed Bryant
* : Barbara Cubin

Closest races

Eighty-seven races were decided by 10% or lower.

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

Non-voting delegates

, -
!
, Eleanor Holmes Norton
, , Democratic
, 1990
, Incumbent re-elected.
, nowrap ,

, -
!
, Ron de Lugo
, , Democratic
, 1980
, , Incumbent retired.
New member elected.
Independent gain.
, nowrap ,

, -
!
, Robert A. Underwood
, , Democratic
, 1992
, Incumbent re-elected.
, nowrap ,

See also

* 1994 United States elections
** 1994 United States gubernatorial elections
** 1994 United States Senate elections
* 103rd United States Congress
* 104th United States Congress
* Republican Revolution

Notes

References

Works cited

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Further reading

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External links

Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994
Office of the Clerk U.S. House of Representatives

{{Elections to the United States House of Representatives

Presidency of Bill Clinton
John Boehner
Sherrod Brown
John Conyers
Barney Frank
John Dingell
Dick Durbin
Dennis Hastert
John Lewis
Ed Markey
Chuck Schumer