1994 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1992 November 8, 1994 1996 →
All 435 seats in theUnited States House of Representatives 218 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Bob Michel (retired) Tom Foley (lost re-election) Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 3, 1981 June 6, 1989 Leader's seat Illinois 18th Washington 5th Last election 176 seats 258 seats Seats won 230 204[a] Seat change 54 54 Popular vote 36,325,809 31,542,823 Percentage 51.5% 44.7% Swing 6.4pp 5.4pp   Third party   Party Independent Last election 1 seat Seats won 1[a] Seat change Popular vote 497,403 Percentage 0.7% Swing 0.6pp
Results:      Democratic hold     Democratic gain      Republican hold     Republican gain      Independent hold
Speaker before election Tom Foley Democratic ElectedSpeaker Newt Gingrich Republican

The1994 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 1994, to electU.S. Representatives to serve in the104th United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of PresidentBill Clinton's first term. In what was known as theRepublican Revolution, a 54-seat swing in membership from theDemocratic Party to theRepublican Party resulted in the latter gaining a majority of seats in the House of Representatives for the first time since1952. It was also the largest seat gain for the party since1946, and the largest for either party since1948, and characterized apolitical realignment in American politics.

Democrats had run the House since1955, and for all but four years (1947–49 and1953–55) since1931. In 1994, the Republican Party ran against President Clinton'sproposed healthcare reform.^[1] The Republicans argued that Clinton had abandoned the centristNew Democrat platform he campaigned on during the 1992 presidential election and reverted to big government solutions. The GOP ran onNewt Gingrich'sContract with America.

The incumbentSpeaker of the House, DemocratTom Foley, lost re-election in his district, becoming the first sitting speaker to be defeated sinceGalusha Grow in1863.^[2] Other major upsets included the defeat of powerful long-serving representatives such as Ways and Means chairmanDan Rostenkowski and Judiciary chairmanJack Brooks. In total, 34 incumbents, all Democrats, were defeated. Republicans also won a number of seats held by retiring Democrats. No Republican incumbents lost re-election, but Democrats won four open Republican-held seats. NFL Hall of FamerSteve Largent was elected in Oklahoma and singerSonny Bono was elected in California.

Robert H. Michel, the Republicanminority leader, chose to retire due to pressure from the more conservative members of the Republican caucus.Dick Cheney had served as the Minority Whip and Michel supported havingEdward Rell Madigan replace him, but the position was instead given to Gingrich, who would later be selected to become speaker.^[3] The incumbent Democraticmajority leader,Dick Gephardt, became minority leader. The new House leadership, under the Republicans, promised to bring a dozen legislative proposals to a vote in the first 100 days of the session, although theU.S. Senate did not always follow suit.

In a significant political realignment, the South underwent a dramatic transformation. Before the election, House Democrats outnumbered House Republicans in the South. Afterwards, with the Republicans having picked up a total of 19 Southern seats, they were able to outnumber Democrats in the South for the first time sinceReconstruction.^[4] The Republicans would go on to remain the majority party of the House for the following 12 years, until the2006 elections. The Republicans have won at least 200 seats in almost every House election since, with the exceptions of2008 and2018. As of 2024^[update], this is the last congressional election in which Democrats won a House seat inMontana, as well as the last time Republicans won any House seats inMassachusetts.

Source: Data from exit-poll surveys by Voter Research and Surveys and Mitofsky International published inThe New York Times, November 13, 1994, p. 24.

Evangelicals were an important group within the electorate and a significant voting block 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%.^[5]

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, p. 3364; in the 1994 exit poll, 38 percent identified themselves as "conservatives," compared with 30 percent in 1992.^[6]

Party identification and ideology by selected religious groups 1994

Source: Mitofsky International exit poll in Klinkner, p. 121.

Ross Perot's organizationUnited We Stand America issued a report card for each member of Congress. 169 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and one independent received a failing grade. Perot went onLarry King Live in October and called for the Democrats to lose their majority in the U.S. House. He endorsed the Republican opponent of SpeakerTom Foley.^[7]

Party		Seats			Seat percentage	Vote percentage	Popular vote
		1992	Elected	Net change
	Republican	176	230	54	52.9%	51.5%	36,325,809
	Democratic	258	204	54	46.9%	44.7%	31,542,823
	Independent	1	1		0.2%	0.7%	497,403
	Libertarian	0	0		0.0%	0.6%	415,944
	Conservative	0	0		0.0%	0.4%	302,735
	U.S. Taxpayers'	0	0		0.0%	0.1%	90,793
	Right to Life	0	0		0.0%	0.1%	70,526
	Peace and Freedom	0	0		0.0%	0.1%	63,450
	Natural Law	0	0		0.0%	0.1%	62,556
	Green Party	0	0		0.0%	0.1%	40,177
	Others	0	0		0.0%	1.5%	1,081,432
Totals		435	435		100.0%	100.0%	70,493,648

Source:Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

• 
  Popular vote by states
• 
  House results shaded by winners share of vote
• 
  House seats by party holding plurality in state
• 
  Net changes to U.S. House seats after the 1994 elections

• Oklahoma 2:Mike Synar lost toVirgil R. Cooper, who later lost the general election to RepublicanTom Coburn
• Pennsylvania 2:Lucien E. Blackwell lost toChaka Fattah, who later won the general election
• Texas 18:Craig Washington lost toSheila Jackson Lee, who later won the general election

• New York 4:David A. Levy lost toDan Frisa, who later won the general election

Thirty-four incumbent Democrats (including 16 "freshmen") were defeated in 1994. Democrats fromWashington lost the most seats (5).

• None.

22 open seats previously held by Democrats were won by Republicans.

• Arizona 1:Matt Salmon
• Florida 1:Joe Scarborough
• Florida 15:Dave Weldon
• Georgia 8:Saxby Chambliss
• Illinois 11:Jerry Weller
• Indiana 2:David M. McIntosh
• Kansas 2:Sam Brownback
• Maine 1:James B. Longley Jr.
• Michigan 8:Dick Chrysler
• Minnesota 1:Gil Gutknecht
• Mississippi 1:Roger Wicker
• New Jersey 2:Frank LoBiondo
• North Carolina 2:David Funderburk
• North Carolina 5:Richard Burr
• Ohio 18:Bob Ney
• Oklahoma 2:Tom Coburn
• Oklahoma 4:J. C. Watts
• Oregon 5:Jim Bunn
• South Carolina 3:Lindsey Graham
• Tennessee 3:Zach Wamp
• Tennessee 4:Van Hilleary
• Washington 2:Jack Metcalf

Democrats won four open seats previously held by Republicans.

• Maine 2:John Baldacci
• Minnesota 6:Bill Luther
• Pennsylvania 18:Mike Doyle
• Rhode Island 1:Patrick J. Kennedy

Democrats held nine of their open seats.

• California 16:Zoe Lofgren
• Kentucky 3:Mike Ward
• Michigan 13:Lynn Rivers
• Missouri 5:Karen McCarthy
• Pennsylvania 2:Chaka Fattah
• Pennsylvania 20:Frank Mascara
• Texas 10:Lloyd Doggett
• Texas 18:Sheila Jackson Lee
• Texas 25:Ken Bentsen Jr.

Republicans held 17 of their open seats.

• Arizona 4:John Shadegg
• California 22:Andrea Seastrand
• California 44:Sonny Bono
• Florida 16:Mark Foley
• Illinois 18:Ray LaHood
• Iowa 5:Tom Latham
• Maryland 2:Bob Ehrlich
• New Jersey 11:Rodney Frelinghuysen
• New York 4:Dan Frisa
• New York 19:Sue Kelly
• North Carolina 9:Sue Myrick
• Oklahoma 1:Steve Largent
• Oregon 2:Wes Cooley
• Pennsylvania 21:Phil English
• South Carolina 1:Mark Sanford
• Tennessee 7:Ed Bryant
• Wyoming at-large:Barbara Cubin

Eighty-seven races were decided by 10% or lower.