In the 12 midterm elections from 1978 to 2022, the president's party lost House seats 10 times, an average loss of 21 seats per midterm, based on the House's official party divisions at the start of each Congress [2]. The only gains came in 1998, when Democrats under Bill Clinton gained 4 seats, and in 2002, when Republicans under George W. Bush gained 8 [2]. In the Senate the average change was a loss of about 3 seats, and the president's party gained or held its ground in 5 of the 12 midterms [3].
How many seats has the president's party lost in each midterm since 1978?
A midterm election is the federal election held two years into a presidential term, when all 435 House seats and about a third of the Senate are on the ballot but the presidency is not. The table compares the number of House seats the president's party held when each Congress opened, as recorded by the House's official party-division table, with the number it held when the next Congress opened after the midterm [2]. Senate changes are the net seats gained or lost by the president's party, with independents counted with the party they caucused with, as compiled by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara [3].
| Midterm | President (party) | House seats of president's party, before and after | House change | Senate change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Jimmy Carter (D) | 292 to 278 | -14 | -3 |
| 1982 | Ronald Reagan (R) | 192 to 166 | -26 | +1 |
| 1986 | Ronald Reagan (R) | 181 to 177 | -4 | -8 |
| 1990 | George H. W. Bush (R) | 175 to 167 | -8 | -1 |
| 1994 | Bill Clinton (D) | 258 to 204 | -54 | -8 |
| 1998 | Bill Clinton (D) | 207 to 211 | +4 | 0 |
| 2002 | George W. Bush (R) | 221 to 229 | +8 | +2 |
| 2006 | George W. Bush (R) | 232 to 202 | -30 | -6 |
| 2010 | Barack Obama (D) | 257 to 193 | -64 | -6 |
| 2014 | Barack Obama (D) | 201 to 188 | -13 | -9 |
| 2018 | Donald Trump (R) | 241 to 199 | -42 | +2 |
| 2022 | Joe Biden (D) | 222 to 213 | -9 | +1 |
Source: House seats from the U.S. House party-division table, figures at the opening of each Congress [2]; Senate changes from the American Presidency Project [3]. Accessed October 13, 2026.
Two notes on method. The House figures are the official counts as of the initial election results, so they do not reflect later special elections [2]. In 1986 the starting count of 181 Republicans comes from a House that opened with one vacancy, and in 2018 the ending count of 199 Republicans reflects that North Carolina's 9th District had not been certified when the 116th Congress opened [2]. Measured instead from the seats held on the eve of each election, the American Presidency Project records House changes of -15 in 1978, -5 in 1986, -63 in 2010 and -41 in 2018, with the other eight years identical [3].
What is the average midterm loss for the president's party?
Adding the 12 House changes in the table gives a net loss of 252 seats, or an average of 21.0 seats per midterm [2]. The median, which is less affected by the very large losses of 1994 and 2010, is a loss of 13.5 seats [2]. The five largest losses were 64 seats in 2010, 54 in 1994, 42 in 2018, 30 in 2006 and 26 in 1982 [2].
The pattern holds for presidents of both parties. In the six midterms held under Democratic presidents (1978, 1994, 1998, 2010, 2014 and 2022) the president's party lost an average of 25.0 House seats; in the six held under Republican presidents (1982, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006 and 2018) the average loss was 17.0 seats [2].
Senate results vary more because only about a third of seats are up and the mix of states changes each cycle. The 12 Senate changes add up to a net loss of 35 seats, an average of 2.9 per midterm [3]. The president's party lost Senate seats in 7 midterms, gained in 4 (1982, 2002, 2018 and 2022) and broke even in 1998 [3]. In 2018 and 2022 the president's party gained Senate seats in the same election in which it lost House seats [3].
How often did control of Congress change?
The House majority changed hands in 5 of the 12 midterms: Republicans won the majority in 1994, 2010 and 2022, and Democrats won it in 2006 and 2018 [2]. Each time, the new majority went to the party that did not hold the White House [2]. The Senate majority changed in 1986 and 2006, when Democrats won it, and in 1994 and 2014, when Republicans won it [4]. In 2002 Republicans, the president's party, regained the Senate majority that had passed to Democrats in June 2001, when Senator James Jeffords of Vermont left the Republican Party and began caucusing with Democrats [4].
What happened in 1998 and 2002, the two exceptions?
1998 and 2002 are the only midterms since 1978 in which the president's party gained House seats [2].
- 1998: Democrats, the party of President Bill Clinton, went from 207 House seats at the opening of the 105th Congress to 211 at the opening of the 106th, a gain of 4 [2]. Republicans kept the majority with 223 seats [2]. In the Senate the balance stayed at 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats [4].
- 2002: Republicans, the party of President George W. Bush, went from 221 House seats to 229, a gain of 8 [2]. They also gained 2 Senate seats by the American Presidency Project's count and opened the 108th Congress with 51 senators, a majority [3][4].
Both gains sat next to large losses for the same parties. Democrats had lost 54 House seats in 1994, four years before their 1998 gain, and Republicans lost 30 House seats in 2006, four years after their 2002 gain [2]. The two exceptions came in consecutive midterms, under presidents of different parties.
How did the House popular vote split in midterm years?
DataPorium data show each party's share of all votes cast for the House in every midterm since 1978, summed from district results [1]. In every one of the 12 midterms, the party with more House votes nationwide also won the House majority [1][2]. The party out of the White House received the larger share of the House vote in 10 of the 12; the exceptions were 1978, when Democrats under President Carter led, and 2002, when Republicans under President Bush led [1].
| Midterm | Democratic share | Republican share | House majority after the election |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 53.5% | 45.0% | Democratic |
| 1982 | 55.2% | 43.4% | Democratic |
| 1986 | 54.3% | 44.4% | Democratic |
| 1990 | 52.1% | 44.3% | Democratic |
| 1994 | 45.0% | 51.9% | Republican |
| 1998 | 47.3% | 48.3% | Republican |
| 2002 | 45.2% | 50.0% | Republican |
| 2006 | 52.3% | 44.3% | Democratic |
| 2010 | 44.9% | 51.7% | Republican |
| 2014 | 45.2% | 51.1% | Republican |
| 2018 | 53.4% | 44.8% | Democratic |
| 2022 | 47.7% | 50.6% | Republican |
Source: DataPorium Election Results, certified US House results summed nationally [1]; majorities from the U.S. House party-division table [2].
Vote shares do not add to 100% because of independent and minor-party candidates. National House vote totals are also approximate by nature: some states do not print uncontested races on the ballot, so those districts add few or no votes to the total. The closest midterm popular vote in the period was 1998, when Republicans led by 0.9 points (R+0.9); the widest was 1982, when Democrats led by 11.8 points (D+11.8) [1]. The full district-by-district results are on DataPorium's election results pages [1].
From 1978 to 2022 the president's party lost House seats in 10 of 12 midterms, an average of 21 seats, with gains only in 1998 and 2002.
Frequently asked questions
How many seats does the president's party usually lose in a midterm?
From 1978 to 2022 the president's party lost an average of 21.0 House seats and about 2.9 Senate seats per midterm, with a median House loss of 13.5 seats [2][3].
When did the president's party last gain House seats in a midterm?
In 2002, when Republicans under President George W. Bush gained 8 seats. Before that, Democrats under President Bill Clinton gained 4 seats in 1998 [2].
How often does the House majority change in a midterm election?
It changed in 5 of the 12 midterms since 1978: 1994, 2006, 2010, 2018 and 2022 [2].
What was the biggest midterm loss since 1978?
Democrats lost 64 House seats in 2010 under President Barack Obama, based on the official counts at the opening of each Congress; measured from the eve of the election the loss was 63 seats [2][3].
Sources & References
- [1] DataPorium Election Results (US House popular vote by party, 1976 to 2024)
- [2] U.S. House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to Present (accessed October 13, 2026)
- [3] The American Presidency Project, Seats in Congress Gained/Lost by the President's Party in Mid-Term Elections (accessed October 13, 2026)
- [4] U.S. Senate, Party Division (accessed October 13, 2026)
