Discover

(Redirected from U.S. House election, 1994)
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.

Contents

Voting Patterns

GOP Gains, 1992-94

Religious Right

Overall results

Incumbents defeated

Individual State Results

Alaska

California

Wisconsin

References

See also

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 45-59'	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
1. Klinkner 118
2. ''Hotline'', November 12, 1994

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%

{|
|- valign=top
|

|

|}

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

{| class=wikitable
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
! 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

{| class=wikitable
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
! District
! Incumbent
! Party
! Elected
! Status
! Opponent
|-bgcolor="#FFD9D9"
| California 1
| Dan Hamburg
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Frank Riggs (R) 53.3%'
Dan Hamburg (D) 46.7%

|-
| California 2
| Wally Herger
| Republican
| 1986
| Running
| 'Wally Herger (R) 64.2%'
Mary Jacobs (D) 26%
Devvy Kidd (AI) 7.3%
Harry H. "Doc" Pendery (L) 2.5%

|-
| California 3
| Vic Fazio
| Democrat
| 1978
| Running
| 'Vic Fazio (D) 49.7%'
Tim Lefever (R) 46.1%
Ross Crain (L) 4.2%

|-
| California 4
| John Doolittle
| Republican
| 1990
| Running
| 'John Doolittle (R) 61.3%'
Katie Hirning (D) 34.9%
Damon C. Falconi (L) 3.8%

|-
| California 5
| Bob Matsui
| Democrat
| 1978
| Running
| 'Robert Matsui (D) 68.5%'
Robert Dinsmore (R) 29%
Gordon Mors (AIP) 2.5%

|-
| California 6
| Lynn Woolsey
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Lynn Woolsey (D) 58.1%'
Mike Nuget (R) 37.6%
Louis Beary (L) 2.6%
Ernest K. Jones, Jr. (PFP) 1.7%

|-
| California 7
| George Miller
| Democrat
| 1974
| Running
| 'George Miller (D) 69.7%'
Charles Hughes (R) 27.4%
William A. Callison (PFP) 2.9%

|-
| California 8
| Nancy Pelosi
| Democrat
| 1987
| Running
| 'Nancy Pelosi (D) 81.8%'
Elsa Cheung (R) 18.2%

|-
| California 9
| Ronald Dellums
| Democrat
| 1970
| Running
| 'Ronald Dellums (D) 72.2%'
Deborah Wright (R) 22.6%
Emma Wong Mar (PFP) 5.1%

|-
| California 10
| Bill Baker
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Bill Baker (R) 59.3%'
Ellen Schwartz (D) 38.6%
Craig W. Cooper (PFP) 2.1%

|-
| California 11
| Richard Pombo
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Richard Pombo (R) 62.1%'
Randy Perry (D) 34.9%
Joseph B. Miller (L) 3%

|-
| California 12
| Tom Lantos
| Democrat
| 1980
| Running
| 'Tom Lantos (D) 67.4%'
Deborah Wilder (R) 32.6%

|-
| California 13
| Pete Stark
| Democrat
| 1972
| Running
| 'Pete Stark (D) 64.6%'
Larry Molton (R) 30.2%
Robert Gough (L) 5.1%

|-
| California 14
| Anna Eshoo
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Anna Eshoo (D) 60.6%'
Ben Brink (R) 39.4%

|-
| California 15
| Norm Mineta
| Democrat
| 1974
| Running
| 'Norm Mineta (D) 59.9%'
Bob Wick (R) 40.1%

|-
| California 16
| bgcolor = "lightgrey" |Don Edwards
| Democrat
| 1972
| Retiring
| 'Zoe Lofgren (D) 65%'
Lyle Smith (R) 35%

|-
| California 17
| Sam Farr
| Democrat
| 1993
| Running
| 'Sam Farr (D) 52.2%'
Bill McCampbell (R) 44.5%
E. Craig Coffin (G) 3.3%

|-
| California 18
| Gary Condit
| Democrat
| 1989
| Running
| 'Gary Condit (D) 65.5%'
Tom Carter (R) 31.7%
James B. Morzella (L) 2.8%

|-bgcolor="#FFD9D9"
| California 19
| Richard Lehman
| Democrat
| 1982
| Running
| 'George Radanovich (R) 56.8%'
Richard Lehman (D) 39.6%
Dolores Comstock (L) 3.6%

|-
| California 20
| Cal Dooley
| Democrat
| 1990
| Running
| 'Cal Dooley (D) 56.7%'
Paul Young (R) 43.3%

|-
| California 21
| Bill Thomas
| Republican
| 1978
| Running
| 'Bill Thomas (R) 69%'
John Evans (D) 27%

|-
| California 22
| bgcolor = "lightgrey" |Michael Huffington
| Republican
| 1992
| Running for Senate
| 'Andrea Seastrand (R) 49.1%'
Walter Capps (D) 48.6%

|-
| California 23
| Elton Gallegly
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Elton Gallegly (R) 66%'
Kevin Ready (D) 27%
Robert Marston (G) 3%

|-
| California 24
| Anthony Beilenson
| Democrat
| 1974
| Running
| 'Anthony Beilenson (D) 49%'
Rich Sybert (R) 47%

|-
| California 25
| Howard P. (Buck) McKeon
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Buck McKeon (R) 65%'
James Gilmartin (D) 32%

|-
| California 26
| Howard Berman
| Democrat
| 1982
| Running
| 'Howard Berman (D) 63%'
Glenn Forsch (R) 32%

|-
| California 27
| Carlos Moorhead
| Republican
| 1972
| Running
| 'Carlos Moorhead (R) 52%'
Doug Kahn (D) 43%

|-
| California 28
| David Dreier
| Republican
| 1980
| Running
| 'David Dreier (R) 67%'
Tommy Randle (D) 31%

|-
| California 29
| Henry Waxman
| Democrat
| 1976
| Running
| 'Henry Waxman (D) 68%'
Paul Stepanek (R) 28%

|-
| California 30
| Xavier Becerra
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Xavier Becerra (D) 66%'
David Ramirez (R) 28%

|-
| California 31
| Matthew Martinez
| Democrat
| 1982
| Running
| 'Matthew Martinez (D) 59%'
John Flores (R) 41%

|-
| California 32
| Julian Dixon
| Democrat
| 1978
| Running
| 'Julian Dixon (D) 78%'
Ernie Farhat (R) 17%

|-
| California 33
| Lucille Roybal-Allard
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) 81%'
Kermit Booker (P) 19%

|-
| California 34
| Esteban Torres
| Democrat
| 1982
| Running
| 'Esteban Torres (D) 62%'
Albert Nunez (R) 34%

|-
| California 35
| Maxine Waters
| Democrat
| 1990
| Running
| 'Maxine Waters (D) 78%'
Nate Truman (R) 22%

|-
| California 36
| Jane Harman
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Jane Harman (D) 47.9%'
Susan Brooks (R) 47.6%

|-
| California 37
| Walter Tucker
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Walter Tucker (D) 78%'
Guy Wilson (R) 22%

|-
| California 38
| Steve Horn
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Steve Horn (R) 59%'
Peter Mathews (D) 37%

|-
| California 39
| Ed Royce
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Ed Royce (R) 66%'
Bob Davis (D) 29%

|-
| California 40
| Jerry Lewis
| Republican
| 1978
| Running
| 'Jerry Lewis (R) 71%'
Don Rusk (D) 29%

|-
| California 41
| Jay Kim
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Jay Kim (R) 62%'
Ed Tessier (D) 38%

|-
| California 42
| George Brown
| Democrat
| 1962
| Running
| 'George Brown (D) 51%'
Rob Guzman (R) 49%

|-
| California 43
| Ken Calvert
| Republican
| 1992
| Running
| 'Ken Calvert (R) 55%'
Mark Takano (D) 39%

|-
| California 44
| bgcolor = "lightgrey" |Al McCandless
| Republican
| 1984
| Retiring
| 'Sonny Bono (R) 56%'
Steve Clute (D) 38%

|-
| California 45
| Dana Rohrabacher
| Republican
| 1988
| Running
| 'Dana Rohrabacher (R) 69%'
Brett Williamson (D) 31%

|-
| California 46
| Bob Dornan
| Republican
| 1984
| Running
| 'Bob Dornan (R) 57%'
Mike Farber (D) 37%

|-
| California 47
| Chris Cox
| Republican
| 1988
| Running
| 'Christopher Cox (R) 72%'
Gary Kingbury (D) 25%

|-
| California 48
| Ron Packard
| Republican
| 1982
| Running
| 'Ron Packard (R) 73%'
Andrei Leshick (D) 22%

|-bgcolor="#FFD9D9"
| California 49
| Lynn Schenk
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Brian Bilbray (R) 49%'
Lynn Schenk (D) 46%

|-
| California 50
| Bob Filner
| Democrat
| 1992
| Running
| 'Bob Filner (D) 57%'
Mary Alice Acevedo (R) 35%
Kip Krueger (G) 2%

|-
| California 51
| Randy (Duke) Cunningham
| Republican
| 1990
| Running
| 'Randy (Duke) Cunningham (R) 67%'
Rita Tamerius (D) 28%

|-
| California 52
| Duncan Hunter
| Republican
| 1980
| Running
| 'Duncan Hunter (R) 64%'
Janet Gastil (D) 31%

|}

Wisconsin

{| class=wikitable
|- bgcolor="#cccccc"
! 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
| bgcolor = "lightgrey" | '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
| bgcolor = "lightgrey" | '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

★ 104th United States Congress

★ United States Senate elections, 1994

★ Republican Revolution