1942 United States House of Representatives elections

Template:Short description Template:Infobox election The 1942 United States House of Representatives elections were elections for the United States House of Representatives to elect members to serve in the 78th United States Congress. They were held for the most part on November 3, 1942, while Maine held theirs on September 14. This was the first election after the congressional reapportionment based on the 1940 census, and was held in the middle of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third term. With involvement in World War II, it was the first wartime election in the United States since 1918.<ref name=nytresults>Template:Cite news</ref>

Roosevelt's Democratic Party lost 45 seats to the Republican Party, retaining only a slender majority even though they lost the popular vote by over 1 million votes (3.9%). The election was the second of four times in the 20th century in which either party won the House majority without winning the popular vote, with the other three instances occurring in 1914, 1952, and 1996; Democrats won the House majority without winning the popular vote in the former election, while Republicans did so in the latter two.<ref name="NYTGerry">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

This was the most successful congressional election for Republicans since 1930, and the first time since that election cycle that the House GOP actually won the popular vote.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The main factor that led to the Republican gains during this election cycle was dissatisfaction with the conduct of America's war effort in World War II.<ref name=nytresults/>

Template:As of, this was the last time the House of Representatives was made up of five parties. This was also the smallest House majority that the Democrats had up until the 2020 elections. Voter turnout was historically low for the time, which was attributed to the absence of military men and the apathy of workers at war production plants, many of whom had failed to re-register to vote in their new communities or become accustomed to local candidates.<ref name=nytresults/>

Overall results

↓
222	1	1	2	209
Democratic	AL	FL	P	Republican

Party		Total seats	Seat change	Seat percentage	Vote percentage	Popular vote
Template:Party color cell	Republican	209	Template:Increase 47	48.0%	50.8%	14,271,483
Template:Party color cell	Democratic	222	Template:Decrease 45	51.0%	47.0%	13,181,759
Template:Party color cell	Progressive	2	Template:Decrease 1	0.4%	0.7%	186,982
Template:Party color cell	Farmer-Labor	1	Template:Steady	0.2%	0.5%	151,684
Template:Party color cell	American Labor	1	Template:Steady	0.2%	0.3%	91,283
Template:Party color cell	Independent	0	Template:Decrease 1	0.0%	0.2%	67,333
Template:Party color cell	Socialist	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	0.1%	37,390
Template:Party color cell	Communist	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	0.1%	29,659
Template:Party color cell	Prohibition	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	0.1%	25,413
Template:Party color cell	Townsend	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	9,843
Template:Party color cell	Socialist Labor	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	1,963
Template:Party color cell	National Recovery	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	1,705
Template:Party color cell	Win the War	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	120
Template:Party color cell	Liberal	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	114
Template:Party color cell	Social Reconstruction	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	114
Template:Party color cell	Independent-Labor	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	<0.1%	75
Template:Party color cell	Others	0	Template:Steady	0.0%	0.1%	17,444
Totals		435	Template:Steady	100.0%	100.0%	28,074,364

Source: Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk

Template:Bar box Template:Bar box

Special elections

Some special elections were held throughout the year.

Elections are listed by date and district.

District	Incumbent			This race
District	Representative	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Template:Ushr	J. Joseph Smith	Template:Party shading/Democratic \| Democratic	1934	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Incumbent resigned November 4, 1941. New member elected January 20, 1942. Republican gain. Winner was subsequently re-elected in November.	Template:Plainlist
Template:Ushr	J. Harold Flannery	Template:Party shading/Democratic \| Democratic	1936	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Incumbent resigned January 3, 1942. New member elected May 19, 1942. Republican gain. Winner was subsequently re-elected in November.	Template:Plainlist
Template:Ushr	Joseph A. McArdle	Template:Party shading/Democratic \| Democratic	1938	Template:Party shading/Democratic/Hold \| Incumbent resigned January 5, 1942. New member elected May 19, 1942. Democratic hold. Winner redistricted to the Template:Ushr and retired; see below.	Template:Plainlist
Template:Ushr	Lee E. Geyer	Template:Party shading/Democratic \| Democratic	1938	Template:Party shading/Democratic/Hold \| Incumbent died October 11, 1941. New member elected August 25, 1942. Democratic hold. Winner was subsequently re-elected in November.	Template:Plainlist
Template:Ushr	Vincent F. Harrington	Template:Party shading/Text/Democratic	1936	Template:Party shading/Republican \| Incumbent resigned September 5, 1942, to serve in the U.S. Army. New member elected November 3, 1942. Republican gain. Winner redistricted to the Template:Ushr and retired; see below.	Template:Plainlist
Template:Ushr	Patrick J. Boland	Template:Party shading/Text/Democratic	1930	Template:Party shading/Democratic/Hold \| Incumbent died May 18, 1942. New member elected November 3, 1942. Democratic hold Winner was not a candidate for the full term; see below.	Template:Plainlist

1942 United States House of Representatives elections

Overall results

Special elections

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Non-voting delegates

Alaska Territory

See also

Notes

References

Sources

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