1994 United States House of Representatives elections
The U.S. House election, 1994 was an election for the United States House of Representatives on November 8 1994, in the middle of President Bill Clinton's first term. As a result of a 54-seat swing in membership from Democrats to Republicans, the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the House for the first time since 1954.
The Democratic Party had run the House for forty years and had been plagued by a series of scandals. The Republican Party, united behind Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, which promised floor votes on various popular and institutional reforms, was able to capitalize on the perception that the House leadership was corrupt, as well as the dissatisfaction of conservative voters with President Clinton's actions (including a failed attempt at universal health care and gun control measures).
In a historic election, House Speaker Tom Foley (D-Washington) was defeated for re-election in his district, becoming the first Speaker of the House to fail to win re-election since the era of the American Civil War. Other major upsets included the defeat of powerful long-serving Representatives such as Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Illinois) and Judiciary Chairman Jack Brooks (D-Texas). In all, 34 incumbents (all Democrats) were defeated, though several of them (like David Price of North Carolina, Ted Strickland of Ohio, and Jay Inslee of Washington) regained seats in later elections; Maria Cantwell of Washington won a U.S. Senate race in 2000. Democrats won four Republican-held seats where the incumbents were stepping down (Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). No Republican incumbent lost his or her seat in 1994.
Minority whip Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia), re-elected in the Republican landslide, became Speaker (previous Minority Leader Robert H. Michel having retired). Former Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri) became minority leader. The new Republican leadership in the House promise to bring a dozen legislative proposals to a vote in the first 100 days of the session, although the Senate did not always follow suit.
Voting Patterns
GOP Gains, 1992-94
| Category | % Rep. 1992 |
% Rep. 1994 |
% shift to GOP 1992-94 |
size of group % /all |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern whites | 53 | 65 | 12 | 24 |
| White men | 51 | 62 | 11 | 40 |
| White "Born Again" Christian | 66 | 76 | 10 | 20 |
| Whites 30-44 years old | 51 | 61 | 10 | 28 |
| Independents | 46 | 56 | 10 | 24 |
| White Protestants | 57 | 66 | 9 | 41 |
| Whites 60 and over | 46 | 55 | 9 | 26 |
| Whites | 50 | 58 | 8 | 79 |
| Men 30-44 years old | 49 | 57 | 8 | 17 |
| Republicans | 85 | 93 | 8 | 35 |
| Income under $15,000 | 31 | 38 | 7 | 11 |
| Conservatives | 72 | 79 | 7 | 34 |
| Men 60 and over | 44 | 51 | 7 | 12 |
| Whites 45-49 | 52 | 59 | 7 | 23 |
| Men | 48 | 54 | 6 | 49 |
| High school education | 42 | 48 | 6 | 22 |
| Some college | 47 | 53 | 6 | 32 |
| White women | 49 | 55 | 6 | 40 |
| Unmarried men | 42 | 48 | 6 | 14 |
| Country on "wrong track" | -- | 67 | 59 | |
| Disapprove of Clinton | -- | 82 | 49 | |
| 1992 Perot voters | -- | 67 | 12 |
- Source: Data from exit-poll surveys by Voter Research and Surveys and Mitofsky International published in the New York Times, 13 November 1994 p. 24
Religious Right
Evangelicals were an important group within the electorate and a significant voting bloc 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%.[1]
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, p3364); in the 1994 exit poll, 38 percent identified themselves as "conservatives," compared with 30 percent in 1992[2].
Party Identification and Ideology by Selected Religious Groups 1994
| Party identification | Political ideology | ||||
| Religion | Democrats | Republicans | Liberal | Moderate | Conservative |
| White evangelical | 20% | 54% | 6% | 33% | 61% |
| Highly religious | 34 | 39 | 15 | 48 | 37 |
| Secular | 44 | 27 | 31 | 47 | 22 |
| Jewish | 57 | 13 | 36 | 50 | 14 |
| All voters | 41 | 35 | 18 | 47 | 35 |
- Source: Mitofsky International exit poll in Klinkner p 121
Overall results
| Party | Seats | Seat percentage | Popular Vote | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Elected | Net Change | Democratic Party | 258 | 204 | -54 | 46.9% | 44.0% | Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.2% | 0.9% | Republican Party | 176 | 230 | +54 | 52.9% | 49.9% |
| Totals | 435 | 435 | +0 | 100.0% | ||||||||||||||||
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Incumbents defeated
Every Republican incumbent seeking re-election won. 34 incumbent Democrats were defeated in 1994, with Democrats from Washington losing the most seats (5):
- Karan English (Arizona 6, elected in 1992)
- Dan Hamburg (California 1, elected in 1992)
- Richard Lehman (California 19, elected in 1982)
- Lynn Schenk (California 49, elected in 1992)
- George "Buddy" Darden (Georgia 7, elected in 1982)
- Don Johnson (Georgia 10, elected in 1992)
- Larry LaRocco (Idaho 1, elected in 1990)
- Dan Rostenkowski (Illinois 5, elected in 1958) - a major upset as Rostenkowski was a veteran and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and his Chicago district was heavily Democratic, though it didn't help that he was under felony indictment.
- Jill Long (Indiana 4, elected in 1988)
- Frank McCloskey (Indiana 8, elected in 1982)
- Neal Smith (Iowa 4, elected in 1958) - also a major upset due to Smith's seniority
- Dan Glickman (Kansas 4, elected in 1976)
- Thomas Barlow (Kentucky 1, elected in 1992)
- Peter Hoagland (Nebraska 2, elected in 1988)
- James Bilbray (Nevada 1, elected in 1986)
- Dick Swett (New Hampshire 2, elected in 1990)
- Herb Klein (New Jersey 8, elected in 1992)
- George Hochbrueckner (New York 1, elected in 1986)
- Martin Lancaster (North Carolina 3, elected in 1986)
- David Price (North Carolina 4, elected in 1986)
- David Mann (Ohio 1, elected in 1992)
- Ted Strickland (Ohio 6, elected in 1992)
- Eric Fingerhut (Ohio 19, elected in 1992)
- Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (Pennsylvania 13, elected in 1992)
- Jack Brooks (Texas 9, elected in 1952) - a huge upset due to Brooks' seniority and chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee
- Bill Sarpalius (Texas 13, elected in 1988)
- Karen Shepherd (Utah 2, elected in 1992)
- Leslie Byrne (Virginia 11, elected in 1992)
- Maria Cantwell (Washington 1, elected in 1992)
- Jolene Unsoeld (Washington 3, elected in 1988)
- Jay Inslee (Washington 4, elected in 1992)
- Tom Foley (Washington 5, elected in 1964) - one of the most historic defeats in congressional history; Foley had not only represented the Spokane area for thirty years, but was Speaker of the House, one of the most powerful men in D.C., so his defeat was symbolic of the entire 1994 election
- Mike Kreidler (Washington 9, elected in 1992)
- Peter Barca (Wisconsin 1, elected in 1993) - Barca's tight win in a 1993 special election in this "safely Democratic" district was a sign of things to come
Individual State Results
Key to party abbreviations: C=Constitution, D=Democrat, G=Green, I=Independent, IP=Independence Party, L=Libertarian, R=Republican, T=U.S. Taxpayers Party.
Key to color code: Blue=Democratic pickup; Red=Republican pickup.
Alaska
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska At-Large | Don Young | Republican | 1973 | Don Young (R) 56.9% Tony Smith (D) 32.7% Joni Whitmore (G) 10.2% Write-In 0.2% |
California
Wisconsin
| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin 1 | Peter Barca | Democrat | 1993 | Mark Neumann (R) 49.4% Peter Barca (D) 48.8% Edward Kozak (L) 2% |
| Wisconsin 2 | Scott Klug | Republican | 1990 | Scott Klug (R) 69% Thomas Hecht (D) 29% John Stumpf (T) 1% Joseph Schumacher (I) 1% |
| Wisconsin 3 | Steve Gunderson | Republican | 1980 | Steve Gunderson (R) 56% Harvey Stower (D) 41% Chuck Lee (T) 2% Mark Weinhold (I) 1% |
| Wisconsin 4 | Jerry Kleczka | Democrat | 1984 | Jerry Kleczka (D) 54% Tom Reynolds (R) 45% James Harold Hause (T) 1% |
| Wisconsin 5 | Tom Barrett | Democrat | 1992 | Tom Barrett (D) 62% Stephen Hollingshead (R) 36% David Schall (I) 1% |
| Wisconsin 6 | Tom Petri | Republican | 1979 | Tom Petri (R) unopposed |
| Wisconsin 7 | Dave Obey | Democrat | 1969 | Dave Obey (D) 54% Scott West (R) 46% |
| Wisconsin 8 | Toby Roth | Republican | 1978 | Toby Roth (R) 64% Stan Gruszynski (D) 36% |
| Wisconsin 9 | James Sensenbrenner | Republican | 1979 | James Sensenbrenner (R) unopposed |
References
- Klinkner; Philip A. Midterm: The Elections of 1994 in Context Westview Press, 1996
- Steeper, F. "This swing is different: Analysis of 1994 election exit polls". The Cook Political Report (Feb 8 1995)
- Teixeira, Ruy A. "The Economics of the 1994 Election and U.S. Politics Today" Challenge. Volume: 39. Issue: 1. 1996. pp 26+.
- Wattenberg; Martin P. "The Democrats' Decline in the House during the Clinton Presidency: An Analysis of Partisan Swings" Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, 1999
See also
| Preceded by 1992 |
U.S. House elections | Succeeded by 1996 |