India, in Infographics: Politics
Donald Trump Is The 7th President Since 1838 To Lose Both The House And The Senate In One Midterm; The President’s Party Has Lost House Seats In 41 Of 45
Every US Midterm Since 1838: The President’s Party, Which Party Ran The House And The Senate After The Vote, And The House Seats Won Or Lost. Hover A Year For The Detail.
Each Column Is A Midterm: The President’s Party (P) On Top, Then The Party Controlling The House (H) And The Senate (S) After The Vote. A White Dot Means The Chamber Changed Hands. Bars Show House Seats The President’s Party Gained Or Lost. Hover Or Tap A Year For The Detail; On A Phone Each Midterm Is A Row.
Lost Both Chambers
7 Of 48
1894, 1918, 1946, 1954, 1994, 2006, 2026
Lost Control Of The House
18 Of 36
Of Midterms Where It Held It
Lost House Seats
41 Of 45
Midterms With A Seat Count
Largest House Loss
-125
Cleveland’s Democrats, 1894
The Bottom Line
The President’s Party Lost House Seats In 41 Of 45 Midterms Since 1838 And Lost Control Of The House In 18 Of The 36 It Held Going In. Losing Both Chambers At Once Has Happened Seven Times, Each Time To A President Whose Party Held Both.
What The Data Shows
Seven Clean Sweeps
The President’s Party Lost Both The House And The Senate In The Same Midterm Seven Times: Cleveland In 1894, Wilson In 1918, Truman In 1946, Eisenhower In 1954, Clinton In 1994, George W. Bush In 2006 And Trump In 2026. Every One Of Them Went Into The Election Holding Both Chambers.
Seats Go Almost Every Time
The President’s Party Lost House Seats In 41 Of The 45 Midterms With A Seat Count. It Gained Seats Only In 1902, 1934, 1998 And 2002.
Control Is Another Matter
In 36 Midterms The President’s Party Held The House Going In; It Lost Control In 18 Of Them. In Ten More, The Opposition Already Held It. The Senate Changed Hands Against The President 10 Times; It Went His Way Once, In 2002.
Unified Government Rarely Ends In A Rout
Of The 33 Decided Midterms Where The President’s Party Held Both Chambers, It Lost Both In Six. The Biggest House Losses Were 125 Seats In 1894 And 96 In 1874.
Read With Care
2026 Is Called, Not Certified
This Year’s Midterm Is Counted As Lost In Both Chambers On Election Night Projections Of 4 November 2026. Its Seat Change Will Be Added When The Count Is Final.
A Bigger House
The House Grew From 242 Seats In 1838 To 435 By 1913, So Seat Swings From Different Eras Are Not Strictly Comparable.
Who Ran The Chamber
Control Means The Party That Organised The Chamber. After 1916 And 1930 Democrats Ran The House With Fewer Seats Than Republicans; In 2002 Democrats Held The Senate Because Jim Jeffords Had Left The Republicans In June 2001.
No Party, Or Another Party
John Tyler (1842) And Andrew Johnson (1866) Had Broken With The Parties That Elected Them And Are Not Counted Either Way. Before 1858 The President’s Opponents Were Whigs Or, In 1854, A Loose “Opposition”.
Sources & Method
House
Party Divisions Of The House, 1789 To Present, And Majority Changes, 1856 To Present, From The Office Of The Historian, US House Of Representatives. Seats Are Those At The Start Of Each Congress.
Senate
Party Division Tables Of The US Senate Historical Office To 1895, And Its List Of Majority And Minority Leaders After That.
Data: House Party Divisions · House Majority Changes · Senate Party Division · Senate Leaders.
