| ←1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 → Midterm elections | |
| Election day | November 4 |
|---|---|
| Incumbent president | Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican) |
| Next Congress | 86th |
| Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | 36 of 98 seats (32 Class 1 seats + 2 special elections + 2 elections for Alaska) |
| Net seat change | Democratic +15[1] |
 | |
| 1958 Senate election results Democratic gain Democratic hold | |
| House elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | All 437 voting seats |
| Popular vote margin | Democratic +12.4% |
| Net seat change | Democratic +49 |
 | |
| Gubernatorial elections | |
| Seats contested | 34 |
| Net seat change | Democratic +6 |
 | |
| 1958 gubernatorial election results Democratic gain Democratic hold | |
Elections were held on November 4, 1958, and elected members of the86th United States Congress. The election took place in the middle ofRepublicanPresidentDwight D. Eisenhower's second term. Eisenhower's party suffered large losses. They lost 48 seats to theDemocratic Party in theHouse of Representatives, and also lost thirteen seats in theU.S. Senate to the Democrats.[2] This marked the first time that thesix-year itch phenomenon occurred during a Republican presidency sinceUlysses S. Grant's second term in1874.Alaska andHawaii were admitted as states during the 86th Congress.
The ranks of liberal Democrats swelled as the Republican Party suffered several losses in the Northeast and the West. The election contributed to a weakening of theconservative coalition and those opposed to thecivil rights movement, allowing for the eventual passage of theGreat Society and theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[3] The election saw an influx of northern Democrats who sought to reform the Congressional seniority system, which often gave the best positions to senior southerners who rarely faced difficult re-elections and thus were able to rack up long terms of service.[4]
Alaska held a referendum that year about statehood, Proposition 1 on August 26 which was approved.[5][6] Two other related referendums were also held in Alaska that year: Proposition 2 asked whether or not to ratify the state boundaries[7] and Proposition 3 asked whether or not to approve other parts of theAlaska Statehood Act.[8] Propositions 2 and 3 both passed.[6]
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