1972 United States House of Representatives elections

1972 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1970 November 7, 1972 1974 →

All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives
218 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Carl Albert Gerald Ford
Party Democratic Republican
Leader since January 21, 1971 January 3, 1965
Leader's seat Oklahoma 3rd Michigan 5th
Last election 255 seats 180 seats
Seats won 242 192
Seat change Decrease 13 Increase 12
Popular vote 37,071,352 33,119,664
Percentage 52.1% 46.5%
Swing Decrease 1.5% Increase 1.6%

  Third party
 
Party Independent Democratic
Last election 0 seats
Seats won 1
Seat change Increase 1
Popular vote 137,664
Percentage 0.2%
Swing Steady

Results:
     Democratic hold      Democratic gain
     Republican hold      Republican gain
     Independent gain

Speaker before election

Carl Albert
Democratic

Elected Speaker

Carl Albert
Democratic

The 1972 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 1972, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 93rd United States Congress. This was the first election held after the 1970 United States redistricting cycle. It coincided with the landslide reelection victory of President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon's Republican Party managed to gain a net of twelve House of Representatives seats from the Democratic Party, although the Democrats retained a majority.

This was the first election in which citizens at least 18 years of age (instead of 21 and older) could vote, due to the recent passage of the 26th Amendment. This was the last time until 2022 that a Democrat would win a House seat in Alaska,[1] and the first time since 1888 that a Republican won a House seat in Louisiana.[2]

  1. ^ Solender, Andrew (September 1, 2022). "Democrat Mary Peltola defeats Sarah Palin in Alaska special election". Axios. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "Parish Follows Trend: Local Voters Support Nixon, Treen, Johnston". The St. Charles Herald. Hahnville, Louisiana. November 9, 1972. p. 1.