United States House of Representatives elections, 1908

United States House of Representatives elections, 1908

1906 ← November 3, 1908 → 1910

All 391 seats to the United States House of Representatives 196 seats were needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Joseph Cannon Champ Clark Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Illinois-18th Missouri-9th Last election 223 seats 167 seats Seats won 219 172 Seat change -4 +5

Speaker before election Joseph Cannon Republican Elected Speaker Joseph Cannon Republican

The U.S. House election in 1908 for the U.S. House of Representatives coincided with the 1908 presidential election, which William Howard Taft won.

Taft was not as popular as his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, but won with Roosevelt's backing, and his Republican Party lost only a handful of seats to the opposition Democrats. Without any striking national issues, the Republicans were able to remain in control. Regional issues led to some changes in House membership, but new Democrats who were elected by dissatisfied industrial workers were balanced out by new Republicans who gained seats in districts with a strong middle class presence.

Overall results

Party	Total seats (change)		Seat percentage
Republican Party	219	-4	56.0%
Democratic Party	172	+5	43.9%
Totals	391	+0	100.0%

80.1-100% Republican	80.1-100% Democratic
60.1-80% Republican	60.1-80% Democratic
House seats by party holding plurality in state

6+ Republican gain	6+ Democratic gain
3-5 Republican gain	3-5 Democratic gain
1-2 Republican gain	1-2 Democratic gain
no net change

California

District	Incumbent	Party	Elected	Status	Opponent
California 1	William F. Englebright	Republican	1906	Running	William F. Englebright (R) 54.1% E. W. Holland (D) 36.8% D. N. Cunningham (S) 7.6% W. P. Fassett (Proh.) 1.4%
California 2	Duncan E. McKinlay	Republican	1904	Running	Duncan E. McKinlay (R) 57.5% W. K. Hays (D) 38.5% A. J. Gaylord (S) 4%
California 3	Joseph R. Knowland	Republican	1904	Running	Joseph R. Knowland (R) 64.1% George W. Peckham (D) 22.8% O. H. Philbrick (S) 9.3% John A. Sands (IL) 2.1% T. H. Montgomery (Proh.) 1.7%
California 4	Julius Kahn	Republican	1898	Running	Julius Kahn (R) 52.7% James G. Maguire (D) 42.9% K. J. Doyle (S) 4% William N. Meserve (Proh.) 0.3%
California 5	Everis A. Hayes	Republican	1904	Running	Everis A. Hayes (R) 49.1% George A. Tracy (D) 42.8% E. H. Misner (S) 6.3% Walter E. Vail (Proh.) 1.8%
California 6	James C. Needham	Republican	1898	Running	James C. Needham (R) 52% Fred P. Feliz (D) 38.7% W. M. Pattison (S) 5.6% James W. Webb (Proh.) 3.7%
California 7	James McLachlan	Republican	1900	Running	James McLachlan (R) 91.5% Jud R. Rush (D) 6.3% A. R. Holston (S) 1.1% Marshall W. Atwood (Proh.) 1% F. G. Hentig (IL) 0.2%
California 8	Sylvester C. Smith	Republican	1904	Running	Sylvester C. Smith (R) 55.7% W. E. Shepherd (D) 34.7% Noble A. Richardson (S) 9.6%

See also

• 61st United States Congress
• United States Senate elections, 1908
• United States presidential election, 1908