1940 United States House of Representatives elections

1940 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1938 November 5, 1940[a] 1942 →

All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives
218 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Sam Rayburn Joseph Martin
Party Democratic Republican
Leader since September 16, 1940 January 3, 1939
Leader's seat Texas 4th Massachusetts 14th
Last election 262 seats 169 seats
Seats won 267 162
Seat change Increase 5 Decrease 7
Popular vote 24,227,821 21,490,392
Percentage 51.4% 45.6%
Swing Increase 2.7% Decrease 1.9%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Progressive American Labor
Last election 2 seats 1 seat
Seats won 3 1
Seat change Increase 1 Steady
Popular vote 477,435 338,770
Percentage 1.0% 0.7%
Swing Steady Steady

  Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Farmer–Labor Independent
Last election 1 seat 0 seats
Seats won 1 1
Seat change Steady Increase 1
Popular vote 298,250 113,497
Percentage 0.6% 0.2%
Swing Decrease 0.3% Steady


Speaker before election

Sam Rayburn
Democratic

Elected Speaker

Sam Rayburn
Democratic

The 1940 United States House of Representatives elections were elections for the United States House of Representatives to elect members to serve in the 77th United States Congress. They were held for the most part on November 5, 1940, while Maine held theirs on September 9. They coincided with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's re-election to an unprecedented third term. His Democratic Party narrowly gained seats from the opposition Republican Party, cementing their majority. However, the election gave firm control of the US House of Representatives and Senate to the New Dealers once again, as Progressives dominated the election.[1]

The upswing in the economy that occurred following the Recession of 1937–38 encouraged voters that the New Deal plan had been working. This allowed the Democrats to stabilize their support.

As of 2024, this was the last time the House of Representatives was made up of six parties.


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