2010 United States House of Representatives elections

For related races, see 2010 United States elections.

2010 United States House of Representatives elections
← 2008 November 2, 2010 2012 →
All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives[a]
218 seats needed for a majority
Turnout40.9%[1] Decrease 13.6 pp
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader John Boehner[2] Nancy Pelosi[5]
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since January 3, 2007 January 3, 2003
Leader's seat Ohio 8th California 8th
Last election 178 seats, 42.6%[3] 257 seats, 53.2%
Seats before 179 256
Seats won 242 193
Seat change Increase 63 Decrease 63
Popular vote 44,829,751[4] 38,980,192
Percentage 51.7% 44.9%
Swing Increase 9.1% Decrease 8.3%
Results:
     Democratic hold      Democratic gain
     Republican hold      Republican gain
Speaker before election

Nancy Pelosi
Democratic

Elected Speaker

John Boehner
Republican

The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 2, 2010, as part of the 2010 midterm elections during President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives to serve in the 112th United States Congress. Also, voters of the U.S. territories, commonwealths and District of Columbia chose their non-voting delegates.[b] U.S. Senate elections and various state and local elections were held on the same date.

Republicans regained control of the U.S. House they had lost in the 2006 midterm election, picking up a net total of 63 seats and erasing the gains Democrats made in 2006 and 2008. Although the sitting president's party usually loses seats in a midterm election, the 2010 election resulted in the highest losses by a party in a House midterm election since 1938,[6][7] as well as the largest House swing since 1948.[8] In total, 52 House Democrats were defeated, including 34 freshman and sophomore representatives.

Republicans made their largest gain in House seats since 1938.[9] Three Democratic committee chairmen were defeated: transportation chairman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, armed services chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri, and budget chairman John Spratt of South Carolina. Democrats made three pick-ups, winning an open seat in Delaware and defeating Republican incumbents in Hawaii and Louisiana.

The heavy Democratic Party losses in 2010 were attributed to anger at President Obama, opposition to the Affordable Care Act and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, large budget deficits, and the weak economy.[10][11][12]

This is the last election in which Democrats won a seat in Arkansas, and the last in which Republicans won more than one seat in Maryland, as well as both seats in New Hampshire.


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  1. ^ McDonald, Michael (January 28, 2011). "2010 General Election Turnout Rates". United States Election Project. George Mason University. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  2. ^ Hooper, Molly K. (November 17, 2010). "Boehner favored as 61st House Speaker on his 61st birthday". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  3. ^ Miller, Lorraine C. (July 10, 2009). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (PDF). Office of the Clerk. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  4. ^ Haas, Karen L. (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). Office of the Clerk. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "House Democrats keep Nancy Pelosi as their leader". WTOP-FM. Associated Press. November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  6. ^ "Boehner Must Navigate Around Senate, Obama – And Tea Party". National Journal. November 3, 2010. Archived from the original on November 4, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Heartland Headache". National Journal. November 4, 2010. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  8. ^ "Republicans capture control of House". CNN. November 3, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  9. ^ The 2010 Midterm Election in Perspective Archived January 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine November 10, 2010. Commentary.
  10. ^ Catherine Dodge and Lisa Lerer (November 2, 2010). "Democrats Face Biggest House Midterm Defeat in Years". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  11. ^ "Midterms 2010: What you need to know". Washington Post. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  12. ^ Kate Pickert (November 2, 2010). "Mixed Results on the Health Reform Referendum". TIME. Retrieved March 11, 2014.