US Midterm Elections: A History Timeline
Every midterm since 1902 and the defining ones before, with how the president's party fared in the House and Senate, through the November 3, 2026 elections.
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Key events
1854–55 elections: Democrats lose the House after the Kansas–Nebraska Act
Under Democratic President Franklin Pierce, Democrats fell from 157 to 83 House seats (house.gov, -74; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -75). A loose 'Opposition' coalition of anti-Nebraska candidates, former Whigs, Know-Nothings and early Republicans won 100 seats and the American Party 51. The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854, which opened those territories to slavery by local vote, dominated the campaign.
1862–63 elections: Republicans lose 23 House seats during the Civil War
Under Republican President Abraham Lincoln, Republicans went from 108 to 85 House seats and Democrats from 44 to 72 (house.gov; Wikipedia also gives -23). Republicans kept control with Unionist allies. The vote followed battlefield setbacks and the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation of September 1862, with Confederate states unrepresented.
1866–67 elections: Republicans win veto-proof majorities against President Johnson
Andrew Johnson, a Democrat elected vice president on Lincoln's National Union ticket, clashed with congressional Republicans over Reconstruction. Republicans rose from 136 to 173 House seats (house.gov) and held 45 Senate seats when the 40th Congress opened (senate.gov), enough to override his vetoes. Because Johnson had no party base in Congress, midterm tables score this year inconsistently.
1874 midterms: Republicans lose 96 House seats and Democrats win the House
Under Republican President Ulysses S. Grant, Republicans fell from 199 to 103 House seats and Democrats rose from 88 to 182, their first House majority since the 1850s (house.gov; net change at the election -96; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -93). Most states voted on November 3, 1874; others voted between mid-1874 and 1875. Standard accounts cite the depression after the Panic of 1873, administration scandals and opposition to Reconstruction. Republicans kept the Senate, though their seats fell from 47 to 44 (senate.gov; senators were then chosen by state legislatures).
1890 midterms: Republicans lose 93 House seats after the McKinley Tariff
Under Republican President Benjamin Harrison, Republicans fell from 179 to 86 House seats and Democrats rose from 152 to 238, with 8 Populists (house.gov; Wikipedia also gives -93). The high McKinley Tariff of 1890 was a central issue, and its author, William McKinley, lost his own House seat. Republicans kept the Senate.
1894 midterms: Republicans gain 130 House seats, the largest swing on record
Under Democratic President Grover Cleveland, Democrats fell from 218 to 93 House seats and Republicans rose from 124 to 254 (house.gov; Democrats' net change at the election -125, Republicans +130; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -127). It is the largest single-election partisan shift in House history. The vote came during the depression that followed the Panic of 1893. In the Senate, Democrats fell from 44 to 39 seats and Republicans became the largest party (senate.gov).
1902 midterms: Republicans add House seats as the chamber expands
Under Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, the House grew from 357 to 386 seats after the 1900 census. Republicans went from 200 to 207 seats (house.gov, +7) and Democrats from 151 to 176; Wikipedia's figures range from +6 to +9, depending on the baseline. In the Senate, chosen by state legislatures, Republicans went from 55 to 57 seats (+2, Wikipedia) and opened the 58th Congress with 57 of 90 (senate.gov).
1906 midterms: Republicans lose 28 House seats but keep both chambers
Under Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, Republicans went from 251 to 223 House seats and Democrats from 135 to 167 (house.gov; net change at the election -28; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -27). In the Senate, chosen by state legislatures between 1906 and 1907, Republicans went from 57 to 60 seats (+3, Wikipedia; 60 at the opening of the 60th Congress per senate.gov).
1910 midterms: Democrats win the House for the first time since 1892
Under Republican President William Howard Taft, Republicans fell from 219 to 162 House seats and Democrats rose from 172 to 230 (house.gov; net change at the election -57; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -56). Democrat Champ Clark replaced Republican Joseph Cannon as Speaker. Standard accounts cite the split between progressive and conservative Republicans and the Payne–Aldrich Tariff. In the Senate, chosen by state legislatures, Republicans went from 59 to 50 seats (-9, Wikipedia) but kept a majority.
17th Amendment ratified: senators to be elected by popular vote
Connecticut became the 36th state to approve the amendment on April 8, 1913, completing ratification, and it was certified on May 31, 1913. Senators, until then chosen by state legislatures, would be elected by voters, starting with the November 3, 1914 elections.
1914 midterms: first popular Senate elections; Democrats lose 61 House seats
Under Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, Democrats went from 291 to 230 House seats and Republicans from 134 to 196 (house.gov, -61), keeping a majority. These were the first regularly scheduled Senate elections held by popular vote under the 17th Amendment; Democrats gained Senate seats, from 53 to 56 (+3, Wikipedia; 56 at the opening of the 64th Congress per senate.gov).
1918 midterms: Republicans win both chambers as World War I ends
Under Democratic President Woodrow Wilson, six days before the Armistice, Democrats went from 214 to 192 House seats and Republicans from 215 to 240 (house.gov, -22). In the Senate, Democrats went from 52 to 47 seats at the election (-5, Wikipedia's infobox; its midterm table gives -4), and Republicans opened the 66th Congress with 49 of 96 (senate.gov).
19th Amendment ratified: women's suffrage nationwide
Tennessee's approval on August 18, 1920, completed ratification of the amendment barring denial of the vote on account of sex; it was certified August 26. The 1922 elections were the first midterms held under it.
1922 midterms: Republicans lose 77 House seats but keep control
Under Republican President Warren G. Harding, Republicans went from 302 to 225 House seats and Democrats from 132 to 207 (house.gov, -77; Wikipedia agrees). In the Senate, Republicans went from 60 to 53 seats at the election (-7, Wikipedia) and had 51 when the 68th Congress opened (senate.gov). It was the first midterm after the 19th Amendment.
1926 midterms: Republicans keep both chambers with smaller margins
Under Republican President Calvin Coolidge, Republicans went from 247 to 238 House seats (house.gov, -9; Wikipedia's per-year count gives -8). In the Senate, Republicans went from 56 to 49 seats at the election (-7, Wikipedia's infobox; its midterm table gives -6); senate.gov counts 46 seated when the 70th Congress opened, with two seats vacant.
1930 midterms: Republicans lose 52 House seats as the Depression deepens
Under Republican President Herbert Hoover, a year after the 1929 stock market crash, Republicans fell from 270 to 218 House seats and Democrats rose from 164 to 216 (house.gov, -52). Fourteen members-elect died before the new Congress met in December 1931, and special elections gave Democrats the majority; John Nance Garner became Speaker. In the Senate, Republicans went from 56 to 48 seats at the election (-8, Wikipedia; senate.gov's opening counts show 54 to 48) and kept narrow control.
1934 midterms: Democrats gain 9 House and 9 Senate seats
Under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the second year of the New Deal, Democrats went from 313 to 322 House seats (+9, house.gov and APP) and from 60 to 69 Senate seats at the election (+9, APP and Wikipedia; senate.gov's opening counts show 59 to 68). It is one of only three midterms from 1934 through 2022 in which the president's party gained House seats, with 1998 and 2002.
1938 midterms: Democrats lose 72 House seats
Under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democrats fell from 334 to 262 House seats (-72, house.gov and APP) while Republicans rose from 88 to 169. In the Senate, Democrats went from 77 to 69 seats at the election (-8, Wikipedia); APP lists -7, comparing senate.gov's opening counts (76 to 69). Standard accounts cite the 1937–38 recession, the court-packing fight and Roosevelt's failed effort to unseat conservative Democrats in primaries. Democrats kept both chambers.
1942 midterms: Democrats lose 45 House seats in wartime
Under Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, eleven months after Pearl Harbor, Democrats went from 267 to 222 House seats (-45, house.gov and APP) and Republicans from 162 to 209. In the Senate, Democrats went from 65 to 57 seats at the election (-8, Wikipedia); APP lists -9, comparing opening counts (66 to 57, senate.gov). Democrats kept both chambers.
1946 midterms: Republicans win both chambers of Congress
Under Democratic President Harry S. Truman, Democrats went from 244 House seats at the start of the previous Congress to 188 (house.gov and APP, -56); measured against the 242 seats they held on Election Day, the net change at the election was -54 (Wikipedia). Republicans won 246. In the Senate, Democrats went from 56 to 45 at the election and Republicans from 39 to 51 (Wikipedia; APP lists -12). It was the first Republican Congress since the one elected in 1928. Standard accounts cite postwar inflation, the end of price controls and strikes; the GOP slogan was 'Had enough? Vote Republican.'
Grokipedia: 1946 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 1946 United States House of Representatives electionsWikipedia: 1946 United States Senate electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election1950 midterms: Democrats keep Congress, losing 28 House seats
Under Democratic President Harry S. Truman, months into the Korean War, Democrats went from 263 to 235 House seats (-28, house.gov and APP). In the Senate, Democrats went from 54 to 49 seats (-5, Wikipedia and senate.gov opening counts; APP lists -6).
1954 midterms: Democrats retake Congress, starting 40 years of House control
Under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Republicans went from 221 to 203 House seats (-18, house.gov and APP) and Democrats from 213 to 232. In the Senate, Republicans went from 49 to 47 seats at the election (-2, Wikipedia; -1 comparing senate.gov's opening counts, as APP lists), and Democrats organized with independent Wayne Morse. Democrats then held the House continuously from 1955 to 1995.
1958 midterms: Republicans lose 48 House seats and 13 Senate seats
In Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term, Republicans went from 201 to 153 House seats (-48 at the election, APP and Wikipedia; house.gov's opening counts show 203 to 153). In the Senate, Republicans fell from 47 to 34 seats (-13, APP, Wikipedia's 1958 page and senate.gov; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -12). Standard accounts cite the 1957–58 recession. Alaska elected its first two senators separately on November 25, 1958.
Grokipedia: 1958 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 1958 United States House of Representatives electionsWikipedia: 1958 United States Senate electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election1962 midterms: Democrats lose 4 House seats and gain in the Senate
Under Democratic President John F. Kennedy, nine days after the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, Democrats lost a net 4 House seats (APP), as the House shrank from 437 to 435 seats after the 1960 census (Wikipedia's per-year count gives -3; house.gov's opening counts show 264 to 258). In the Senate, Democrats went from 64 to 68 seats at the election (+4, Wikipedia; APP lists +3), and senate.gov records 66 when the 88th Congress opened.
Grokipedia: 1962 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 1962 United States House of Representatives electionsWikipedia: 1962 United States Senate electionsVoting Rights Act signed
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act barring racial discrimination in voting, including literacy tests, and providing federal oversight of elections in covered jurisdictions.
1966 midterms: Republicans gain 47 House seats
Under Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, two years after his 1964 landslide, Democrats went from 295 to 248 House seats (-47, house.gov and APP). In the Senate, Democrats went from 67 to 64 seats at the election (-3, Wikipedia); APP lists -4, comparing senate.gov's opening counts (68 to 64). Standard accounts cite the escalating Vietnam War, inflation and debate over the Great Society. Democrats kept both chambers.
1970 midterms: Republicans lose 12 House seats, gain in the Senate
Under Republican President Richard Nixon, Republicans went from 192 to 180 House seats (-12, house.gov and APP). In the Senate, APP lists +2 for the president's side, counting Conservative James Buckley of New York, who caucused with Republicans; the Republican Party itself went from 43 to 44 seats (+1, Wikipedia).
26th Amendment lowers the voting age to 18
Ratification was completed on July 1, 1971, and certified on July 5, barring denial of the vote to citizens 18 or older on account of age. The 1974 elections were the first midterms held under it.
1974 midterms: Republicans lose 48 House seats after Watergate
Under Republican President Gerald Ford, who took office when Richard Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, and pardoned him on September 8, Republicans went from 192 to 144 House seats (-48, house.gov and APP); Democrats rose to 291. In the Senate, Republicans went from 41 to 37 seats (-4, Wikipedia, counting a disputed New Hampshire seat that Democrats won in a 1975 rerun); APP lists -5, comparing senate.gov's opening counts. Standard accounts cite Watergate, inflation and recession.
Grokipedia: 1974 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 1974 United States House of Representatives electionsWikipedia: 1974 United States Senate electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election1978 midterms: Democrats lose 15 House seats and 3 Senate seats
Under Democratic President Jimmy Carter, Democrats went from 292 to 277 House seats at the election (-15, APP and Wikipedia; house.gov's opening count for the new Congress is 278, which would make -14). In the Senate, Democrats went from 61 to 58 seats (-3, APP, Wikipedia and senate.gov). Democrats kept both chambers.
1982 midterms: Republicans lose 26 House seats during a recession
Under Republican President Ronald Reagan, during the 1981–82 recession, Republicans went from 192 to 166 House seats (-26, house.gov and APP). In the Senate, Republicans held 54 seats before and after the election (no net change at the election, Wikipedia); APP lists +1, comparing senate.gov's opening counts (53 to 54), because a Republican was appointed to a vacant New Jersey seat in April 1982.
1986 midterms: Democrats win back the Senate
In Republican President Ronald Reagan's second term, Republicans went from 53 to 45 Senate seats (-8, senate.gov, APP and Wikipedia), giving Democrats the majority. In the House, Republicans fell to 177 seats: house.gov's opening count for the previous Congress was 181 (-4, as Wikipedia also gives), while APP and Grokipedia count from 182 (-5).
1990 midterms: Republicans lose 8 House seats and 1 Senate seat
Under Republican President George H. W. Bush, as US forces deployed to the Persian Gulf after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Republicans went from 175 to 167 House seats (-8, house.gov and APP) and from 45 to 44 Senate seats (-1, senate.gov and APP).
House Republicans unveil the Contract with America
Republican House candidates gathered on the Capitol steps to sign a pledge, about six weeks before the election, to bring ten bills to a vote in the first 100 days of a Republican-led House.
1994 midterms: Republicans gain 54 House seats and win both chambers
Under Democratic President Bill Clinton, Democrats went from 258 to 204 House seats and Republicans from 176 to 230 (-54, house.gov, APP and Wikipedia; Grokipedia's midterm table gives -52), the first Republican House majority since the 1952 election. Speaker Tom Foley lost his own seat. In the Senate, Democrats lost 8 seats at the election (APP), and Sen. Richard Shelby switched to the Republicans the next day; senate.gov's opening counts (57 to 47) also include a 1993 special-election loss in Texas.
Grokipedia: 1994 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 1994 United States House of Representatives electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election1998 midterms: the president's party gains House seats for the first time since 1934
Under Democratic President Bill Clinton, weeks after the House voted on October 8 to open an impeachment inquiry, Democrats went from 207 to 211 House seats (+4, house.gov and APP; Wikipedia and Grokipedia count +5 from 206). The Senate stayed 55 Republicans to 45 Democrats (no change). Speaker Newt Gingrich announced on November 6 that he would leave the speakership and Congress.
Grokipedia: 1998 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 1998 United States House of Representatives electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election2002 midterms: Republicans gain seats in both the House and Senate
Under Republican President George W. Bush, in the first midterm after the September 11 attacks and a month after Congress authorized force against Iraq, Republicans went from 221 to 229 House seats (+8, house.gov and APP) and from 49 to 51 Senate seats (+2, APP), regaining the Senate majority lost when Sen. Jim Jeffords left the party in 2001.
2006 midterms: Democrats win both chambers
In Republican President George W. Bush's second term, Republicans went from 232 to 202 House seats (-30, house.gov, APP and Wikipedia's 2006 page; Wikipedia's midterm table gives -32) and Democrats rose to 233. In the Senate, Republicans went from 55 to 49 seats (-6, senate.gov and APP). Standard accounts cite the Iraq War, low presidential approval and congressional scandals.
Grokipedia: 2006 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 2006 United States House of Representatives electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election2010 midterms: Republicans gain 63 House seats
Under Democratic President Barack Obama, Democrats went from 256 to 193 House seats at the election (-63, APP and Wikipedia; house.gov's opening counts show 257 to 193, or -64, because a seat changed hands in a special election in between). It was the largest House gain by either party in a midterm since 1938. In the Senate, the Democratic caucus went from 59 to 53 seats (-6, APP). Standard accounts cite the slow recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, the health care law and the Tea Party movement.
Grokipedia: 2010 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 2010 United States House of Representatives electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election2014 midterms: Republicans win the Senate and grow their House majority
In Democratic President Barack Obama's second term, Democrats went from 201 to 188 House seats (-13, house.gov and APP) and the Democratic caucus from 55 to 46 Senate seats (-9, senate.gov and APP), giving Republicans the Senate majority.
2018 midterms: Democrats win the House as Republicans gain Senate seats
Under Republican President Donald Trump, Democrats went from 194 to 235 House seats and Republicans lost 41 (APP), falling from 241 to 199 seated when the new Congress opened (house.gov), with North Carolina's 9th District vacant because its 2018 result was not certified; a Republican won it in a 2019 special election. Grokipedia's figures (-40/-42) vary. In the Senate, Republicans went from 51 to 53 seats (+2, APP).
Grokipedia: 2018 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 2018 United States House of Representatives electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election2022 midterms: Republicans narrowly win the House; Democrats gain a Senate seat
Under Democratic President Joe Biden, Democrats went from 222 to 213 House seats (-9, house.gov, APP and Grokipedia), giving Republicans a 222-seat majority. The Democratic caucus went from 50 to 51 Senate seats (+1, APP). Standard accounts cite high inflation and the Supreme Court's June 2022 Dobbs decision on abortion as leading issues.
Grokipedia: 2022 United States House of Representatives electionsAmerican Presidency Project: seats gained/lost by the president's party in midtermsUS House History: Party DivisionsUS Senate: Party DivisionWikipedia: 2022 United States House of Representatives electionsGrokipedia: United States midterm election2026 midterms (scheduled): all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats
Scheduled for November 3, 2026, in Republican President Donald Trump's second term. On the ballot: all 435 House seats, 33 regular Senate seats plus special elections in Florida and Ohio, and 36 governorships. Going in, Republicans hold the House (220 to 215 at the start of the 119th Congress, house.gov) and the Senate (53 to 47, including two independents who caucus with Democrats). Results are not yet known.
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