Midterm Elections And First-Term Presidents
No matter how popular a first-term president is, modern midterm congressional elections have rarely spelled good news for his political party. Since 1946, the president's party has almost invariably suffered losses in one or both chambers of Congress. The one exception: the 2002 midterms, when Republicans benefited from George W. Bush's post-Sept. 11 surge in popularity.
| Year | President | Seats Gained/Lost | Shift In Power? | On The Ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Harry Truman (D) |  |
Yes. GOP takes House and Senate | After 14 years of Democratic rule, malaise, coupled with postwar increases in housing and food costs, helps Republicans gain control of both chambers of Congress. |
| 1954 | Dwight Eisenhower (R) |  |
Yes. Democrats take House and Senate |
McCarthyism and early signs of a recession dampen support for the GOP. Democrats take control of House and Senate. |
| 1962 | John Kennedy (D) |  |
No | Democrats, already in control of both chambers of Congress, do well at the polls in the aftermath of President Kennedy's successful handling of the October Cuban missile crisis. |
| 1966 | Lyndon Johnson (D) |  |
No | Civil unrest and the public's growing unease over the U.S. war effort in Vietnam translate into Democratic losses at the polls. |
| 1970 | Richard Nixon (R) |  |
No | The Vietnam War continues to plague the White House. This time, Republicans suffer electoral consequences in the House. |
| 1974 | Gerald Ford (R) |  |
No | Democrats make gains in the wake of the Watergate scandal that toppled Nixon and brought Ford into office. |
| 1978 | Jimmy Carter (D) |  |
No | The GOP makes gains with the rise of religious conservatives. |
| 1982 | Ronald Reagan (R) |  |
No | President Reagan and House Republicans take a hit amid a deep recession and rising unemployment. |
| 1990 | George H.W. Bush (R) |  |
No | In this status quo election shortly after George H.W. Bush enters office, many incumbents who are re-elected nonetheless see sharp drops in their support at the polls. |
| 1994 | Bill Clinton (D) |  |
Yes. GOP takes House and Senate |
As the Clinton administration struggles with fallout from a tax increase and health care overhaul fiasco, the GOP takes control of both the Senate and — for the first time in 40 years — the House. |
| 2002 | George W. Bush (R) |  |
No | In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Republicans make gains in both the House and Senate -- bucking the historical trend for midterm elections during a president's first term. |