United States House election, 1946

United States House of Representatives elections, 1946

← 1944 November 5, 1946 1948 →
All 435 seats to the United States House of Representatives 218 seats were needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Joseph Martin Sam Rayburn Party Republican Democratic Leader's seat Massachusetts-14th Texas-4th Last election 191 seats 242 seats Seats won 246 188 Seat change 55 54 Popular vote 18,422,363 15,491,113 Percentage 53.5% 45.0% Swing 6.4% 6.8%   Third party   Party American Labor Last election 1 seat Seats won 1 Seat change Popular vote 196,866 Percentage 0.6% Swing 0.3%
Speaker before election Sam Rayburn Democratic Elected Speaker Joseph Martin Republican

Sam Rayburn
Democratic

Joseph Martin
Republican

Elections to the United States House of Representatives for the 80th United States Congress took place in 1946. These midterm elections occurred 19 months after President Harry S. Truman assumed office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Truman was Vice President under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was thrust into the presidency following Roosevelt's death. Truman did not garner the same support as the deceased president. Democrats had controlled Congress since 1931, for 16 years, and Roosevelt had been elected to a record four terms in office. In the 1946 election, the election resulted in Republicans picking up 55 seats to win majority control. Joseph William Martin, Jr., Republican of Massachusetts, became Speaker of the House, exchanging places with Sam Rayburn, Democrat of Texas, who became the new Minority Leader. The Democratic defeat was the largest since they were trounced in the 1928 pro-Republican wave that brought Herbert Hoover to power.

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