1986 gubernatorial election results Territorial races not shown
Republican hold
Republican gain
Democratic hold
Democratic gain
In an instance of the six-year itch phenomenon, the Democrats won a net gain of eight seats to recapture control of the United States Senate, taking back the chamber for the first time since the 1980 elections. Democrats won the national popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 7.7 percentage points, making a net gain of five seats.[1] Despite Democratic congressional gains, in the gubernatorial elections, the Republican Party picked up a net of eight governorships, making 1986 the last midterm election until 2022 that the president's party made gubernatorial gains.
The national campaign centered largely around the Senate, where Republicans defended a large freshman class of Senators. Despite sweeping Democratic gains, many of the losing Republicans incumbents lost by small margins. The Republican loss of the Senate put an effective check on any further major conservative legislation during the Reagan administration. The elections also had a major impact on the Supreme Court, as Republican losses helped ensure that Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court would be defeated by the Senate. After the Senate rejected the conservative Bork, Reagan instead nominated Anthony Kennedy, who became a critical swing vote on the court.[2]
^"Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
^Busch, Andrew (1999). Horses in Midstream. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 126–135.
April 12, 2024
1986, united, states, elections, were, held, november, elected, members, 100th, united, states, congress, elections, occurred, middle, republican, president, ronald, reagan, second, term, democrats, regained, unified, control, both, chambers, congress, first, . The 1986 United States elections were held on November 4 and elected the members of the 100th United States Congress The elections occurred in the middle of Republican President Ronald Reagan s second term Democrats regained unified control of both chambers of Congress for the first time since the 1980 elections 1986 United States elections 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Midterm electionsElection dayNovember 4Incumbent presidentRonald Reagan Republican Next Congress100thSenate electionsOverall controlDemocratic gainSeats contested35 of 100 seats 34 Class 3 seats 1 special election Net seat changeDemocratic 81986 Senate election results Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican holdHouse electionsOverall controlDemocratic holdSeats contestedAll 435 voting seatsPopular vote marginDemocratic 9 9 Net seat changeDemocratic 51986 House of Representatives election results Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican holdGubernatorial electionsSeats contested38 36 states 2 territories Net seat changeRepublican 81986 gubernatorial election resultsTerritorial races not shown Republican hold Republican gain Democratic hold Democratic gainIn an instance of the six year itch phenomenon the Democrats won a net gain of eight seats to recapture control of the United States Senate taking back the chamber for the first time since the 1980 elections Democrats won the national popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 7 7 percentage points making a net gain of five seats 1 Despite Democratic congressional gains in the gubernatorial elections the Republican Party picked up a net of eight governorships making 1986 the last midterm election until 2022 that the president s party made gubernatorial gains The national campaign centered largely around the Senate where Republicans defended a large freshman class of Senators Despite sweeping Democratic gains many of the losing Republicans incumbents lost by small margins The Republican loss of the Senate put an effective check on any further major conservative legislation during the Reagan administration The elections also had a major impact on the Supreme Court as Republican losses helped ensure that Robert Bork s nomination to the Supreme Court would be defeated by the Senate After the Senate rejected the conservative Bork Reagan instead nominated Anthony Kennedy who became a critical swing vote on the court 2 See also edit1986 United States House of Representatives elections 1986 United States Senate election 1986 United States gubernatorial electionsReferences edit Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4 1986 PDF U S House of Reps Office of the Clerk Retrieved 10 April 2017 Busch Andrew 1999 Horses in Midstream University of Pittsburgh Press pp 126 135 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1986 United States elections amp oldid 1174778750, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,