Chamber:
	House of Representatives
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	8 November 1994
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats of the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members’ term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The campaign for the 1994 mid-term congressional elections officially stated on 5 September. Polling for the House of Representatives and Senate seats was held simultaneously with that for 36 of 50 state governorships and numerous seats of state legislatures and civic posts. As usual, the elections were accompanied by a series of propositions (referendums) in a number of states. Most of these related to taxation or to term limits of elected officials. A centre piece of the Republican Party platform was summarised in the “Contract with America”, a document signed by more than 300 Republican House candidates in September. The contract – a 10-point popular, conservative manifesto – committed the party to enacting a range of reforms advocating, inter alia, sweeping tax cuts, a balanced-budget constitutional amendment, sharp decreases in welfare spending, term limits for legislators and a higher military budget. It had been drawn up under the direction of conservative House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich. The parties of sitting presidents historically suffer losses in mid-term elections and 1994 was anything but an exception as the Democratic Party of President Bill Clinton was decisively beaten, the Republicans gaining controlling majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time since 1954. Defeated Democratic incumbents included 33 Representatives (including the Speaker), two Senators and four Governors, with the party continuing to lose support in the South, its traditional stronghold. Analysts attributed this landslide to public dissatisfaction with the Clinton administration, fears about crime and the economy, and a conservative shift on fiscal and social issues. They also predicted that, with the success of many staunch conservatives, the new (104th) Congress would be ideologically polarised to a greater degree. The voter swing to the right was strongest with the male and white electorates, and the overall outcome raised the spectre of impasses between a Republican Congress and a Democratic White House. As a result of these developments, there were major changes in congressional leadership posts. When it convened on 3 January 1995, the 104th Congress composed, inter alia, of 87 freshmen Representatives – elected Mr. Gingrich House Speaker and Mr. Robert Dole as Senate Majority Leader.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (8 November 1994): Elections results
Number of registered electors	129,704,321*
Voters	76,585,123 (59.04%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	1,479,263
Valid votes	75,105,860

Comments:
	* Excluding the States of North Dakota and Wisconsin, which do not require voter registration.

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Republican Party	412	36,989,943	52.4
Democratic Party	400	32,069,328	45.4
Others	282	1,536,857	2.2

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Republican Party	230	+54
Democratic Party	204	-54
Others	1	=

Comments:
	Since the elections, one Democratic Representative changed party affiliation, thus raising the Republicans’ seats total to 231.

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	387
Women:	48

Distribution of seats according to profession:
Law	170
Business/banking	163
Public service	102
Education	76
Real estate	28
Agriculture	19
Journalism	15
Law enforcement	11
Medicine	10
Engineering	6
Professional sports	2
Clergy	2
Labour officials	2
Others	4

Comments:
	Some Members list more than one occupation, leading to occupation totals higher than actual membership of the House.