| ←1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 → Midterm elections | |
| Election day | November 7 |
|---|---|
| Incumbent president | Jimmy Carter(Democratic) |
| Next Congress | 96th |
| Senate elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | 35 of 100 seats (33 seats of Class 2 + 2 special elections) |
| Net seat change | Republican +3[1] |
 | |
| 1978 Senate election results Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold | |
| House elections | |
| Overall control | Democratic hold |
| Seats contested | All 435 voting seats |
| Popular vote margin | Democratic +8.9% |
| Net seat change | Republican +15 |
 | |
| 1978 House of Representatives election results Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold | |
| Gubernatorial elections | |
| Seats contested | 38 (36 states, 2 territories) |
| Net seat change | Republican +6 |
 | |
| 1978 gubernatorial election results Territorial races not shown Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold | |
Elections were held on November 7, 1978, to elect the members of the96th United States Congress. The election occurred in the middle ofDemocraticPresidentJimmy Carter's term. Democrats retained control of both houses ofCongress.
The Democrats lost three seats in theUnited States Senate to theRepublicans.[2] Democrats won the nationwide popular vote for theHouse of Representatives by a margin of 8.9 percentage points, but lost fifteen seats to Republicans.[2] The elections represent the most recent instance in which the president's party retained control of both houses of Congress in a midterm election, although the2002 elections saw Republicans retain the House and win control of the Senate.
In thegubernatorial elections, Republicans picked up six seats. Among the newly elected governors was future presidentBill Clinton fromArkansas. Clinton's eventual successor as president,George W. Bush, ran as the Republican nominee inTexas's 19th congressional district but was defeated by DemocratKent Hance, while future presidentJoe Biden was elected to his second term as Senator fromDelaware. AlsoGeorgia's 6th congressional district was flipped from Democratic to Republican by futureHouse Speaker and one-time presidential candidate, RepublicanNewt Gingrich.
Though Republicans gains were relatively modest for amidterm election, the election set the stage for theReagan Revolution. Many of the newly elected members of Congress were more conservative than their predecessors, and most supported tax cuts that would eventually be implemented in theEconomic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. The election also ended the possibility of a ratification of theSALT II treaty with theSoviet Union. Carter's move to the center after this election encouraged a 1980 Democratic primary challenge by Massachusetts SenatorTed Kennedy.[3]
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