Republican Revolution

The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are names for the big success the Republican Party had in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections.

In this election, the Republican Party won many seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate. This was led by Newt Gingrich. It was the first time in 42 years that the Republican Party took control of the House of Representatives. This change had a big impact on politics in the United States.

History

In 1994, Republican candidates worked together with one main message led by Newt Gingrich. They said President Bill Clinton was not keeping promises from his 1992 campaign and offered their own plan called the Contract with America.

The election results in 1994 gave Republicans control of both the House and the Senate for the first time in 40 years, since the 83rd Congress. This big change also helped Republicans win more seats in state governments across the country.

Effect

When the 104th United States Congress began in January 1995, House Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be Speaker of the House. He helped write the Contract with America. The new group of Republican senators picked Bob Dole as their leader. The Republicans had big plans, but they often had to work with President Bill Clinton. He could use his veto power to stop them.

The 1994 election ended a group called the conservative coalition. This group included conservative Republicans and some Democrats, mostly from the South. They had often influenced decisions in Congress since the time of the New Deal.

Pick-ups

Many new Republican members joined Congress after the elections. In the House of the 104th Congress, nearly one-third of the 230 Republican members were new. In the Senate, about 20% of the 54 Republican members were also new.

Senate

House of Representatives

Governorships