United States House of Representatives elections, 1952

United States House of Representatives elections, 1952

1950 ← November 4, 1952 → 1954

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 199 seats 235 seats Seats won 221 213 Seat change 22 22 Popular vote 28,393,794 28,642,537 Percentage 49.3% 49.8% Swing 0.4% 0.2%

Speaker before election Sam Rayburn Democratic Elected Speaker Joseph Martin Republican

Sam Rayburn
Democratic

Joseph Martin
Republican

The 1952 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1952 which coincided with the election of President Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower's Republican Party gained 22 seats from the Democratic Party, gaining a majority of the House. However, the Democrats technically had almost 250,000 more votes (0.4%). This would be the last time the Republican Party won a majority in the House until 1994. It was also the last election when both major parties increased their share of the popular vote simultaneously, largely due to the disintegration of the American Labor Party and other third parties.

Outgoing President Harry Truman's dismal approval rating was one reason why his party lost its House majority. Also, continued uneasiness about the Korean War was an important factor. Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R-Massachusetts) became Speaker of the House, exchanging places with Sam Rayburn (D-Texas), who became the new Minority Leader.

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