The 1998 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 3, 1998, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the

106th United States Congress The 106th 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, 19 ...

. They were part of the midterm elections held during President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's second term. They were a major disappointment for the Republicans, who were expecting to gain seats due to the embarrassment Clinton suffered during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the "

six-year itch The six-year itch, according to political scientists, is the pattern which takes place during a U.S. president's sixth year in office. This year is characterized by the nation's disgruntled attitude towards the president and their political part ...

" effect observed in most second-term midterm elections. However, the Republicans lost five seats to the Democrats, although they retained a narrow majority in the House. A wave of Republican discontent with Speaker

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

prompted him to resign shortly after the election; he was replaced by Congressman

Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert ( ; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician, teacher, and wrestling coach who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. Hast ...

of Illinois. The campaign was marked by Republican attacks on the morality of President

, with independent counsel

Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who as Special prosecutor, independent counsel authored the Starr Report, which served as the basis of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an i ...

having released his report on the Lewinsky scandal and House leaders having initiated an inquiry into whether impeachable offenses had occurred. However, exit polls indicated that most voters opposed impeaching Clinton, and predictions of high Republican or low Democratic turnout due to the scandal failed to materialize. Some speculate that the losses reflected a backlash against the Republicans for attacking the popular Clinton. With the Republicans having lost four House seats and failing to gain any seats in the Senate, it was the first time since

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

that the non-presidential party failed to gain congressional seats in a midterm election; this would happen again in 2002. This was the last election until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

where no incumbents who served at least 6 terms (12 years) lost re-nomination or re-election, and also the most recent where no Democratic incumbent lost renomination.See

Overall results

1998 US House of Representatives Election by States

Source
Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Incumbent retirements

Democrats

# : Vic Fazio # : Esteban Torres # : Jane Harman: To run for Governor # : David Skaggs # : Barbara B. Kennelly: To run for Governor # : Sidney R. Yates # : Glenn Poshard: To run for Governor # : Lee Hamilton # : Scotty Baesler: To run for U.S. Senate # : Joseph P. Kennedy II # : Thomas Manton # :

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

: To run for U.S. Senate # : Bill Hefner # : Louis Stokes # : Elizabeth Furse # : Paul McHale # : Henry B. González

Republicans

# : Frank Riggs: To run for U.S. Senate # : Daniel Schaefer # :

Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Rep ...

: To run for U.S. Senate # : Harris Fawell # : Jim Bunning: To run for U.S. Senate # : Michael Parker: To run for Governor # : Jon Christensen: To run for Governor # :

John Ensign John Eric Ensign (born March 25, 1958) is an American veterinarian and former politician who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 2001 until his resignation in 2011 amid a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his attempts to ...

: To run for U.S. Senate # : Gerald Solomon # :

Bill Paxon Leon William Paxon (born April 29, 1954) is an American lobbyist and former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. From 1989 to 1999, he served five terms in Congress. Early life Paxon was born in Akron, New Yo ...

# : Bob Smith # : Joseph M. McDade # : Bob Inglis: To run for U.S. Senate # : Linda Smith: To run for U.S. Senate # : Mark Neumann: To run for U.S. Senate # : Scott Klug

Incumbents defeated

In primary elections

This remains the most recent election as of 2024 where no Democratic incumbent lost to a Democratic challenger.

Republicans who lost to a Republican challenger

# : Jay Kim lost to Gary Miller who later won the general election

In the general election

Democrats who lost to a Republican challenger

# : Jay Johnson lost to Mark Green

Republicans who lost to a Democratic challenger

# : Vince Snowbarger lost to Dennis Moore # : Mike Pappas lost to Rush Holt Jr. # : Bill Redmond lost to Tom Udall # : Jon D. Fox lost to Joe Hoeffel # : Rick White lost to Jay Inslee

Closest races

Forty-three 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

Notes

References

External links

* {{United States House of Representatives elections Presidency of Bill Clinton Clinton–Lewinsky scandal John Boehner Sherrod Brown John Conyers Newt Gingrich Barney Frank John Dingell Dennis Hastert Ed Markey John Thune