1956 United States House of Representatives elections

1956 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1954 November 6, 1956[a] 1958 →

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 232 seats 203 seats
Seats won 234 201
Seat change Increase 2 Decrease 2
Popular vote 30,062,042 28,698,083
Percentage 51.2% 48.7%
Swing Decrease 1.3% Increase 1.7%

Results:
     Democratic hold      Democratic gain
     Republican hold      Republican gain

Speaker before election

Sam Rayburn
Democratic

Elected Speaker

Sam Rayburn
Democratic

The 1956 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives to elect members to serve in the 85th United States Congress. They were held for the most part on November 6, 1956, while Maine held theirs on September 10. They coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

With no major national issues and the economic upswing of the 1950s in full force, voters generally chose to uphold the status quo, keeping the Republican president and the Democratic Congress.
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