1982 United States House of Representatives elections

1982 United States House of Representatives elections
All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives; 218 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Democratic hold Democratic gain; Republican hold Republican gain; Conservative hold
Speaker before election; Tip O'Neill; Democratic	Elected Speaker ; Tip O'Neill; Democratic

The 1982 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives held on November 2, 1982, to elect members to serve in the 98th United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of President Ronald Reagan's first term, whose popularity was sinking due to economic conditions under the 1982 recession. The President's Republican Party lost seats in the House, which could be viewed as a response to the President's approval at the time. Unlike most midterm election cycles, the number of seats lost—26 seats to the Democratic Party—was a comparatively large swap. It included most of the seats that had been gained the previous election, cementing the Democratic majority.^[1] Coincidentally, the number of seats the Democrats picked up (26), was the exact amount the Republicans would have needed to win the House majority. It was the first election held after the 1980 United States redistricting cycle.

Quick Facts All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives 218 seats needed for a majority, Majority party ...

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In the previous election of 1980 Republicans gained many seats as the result of President Ronald Reagan's coattails. In 1982, 14 freshman representatives who ran for re-election lost their seats.

To date, this election marks the last time the Democrats picked up a House seat in West Virginia. It was also the last time the party holding the White House won independent voters in a congressional midterm election until 2022.^[2]

393 incumbent members sought reelection, but 10 were defeated in primaries and 29 defeated in the general election for a total of 354 incumbents winning.^[3]

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269	1	165
Democratic	C	Republican

More information Parties, Seats ...

Parties		Seats				Popular vote
Parties		1980	1982	+/-	Strength	Vote	%	Change
	Democratic Party	243	269	26	61.8%	35,284,473	55.2%	4.7%
	Republican Party	191	165	26	38.0%	27,625,593	43.4%	4.4%
	Libertarian Party	0	0		0.0%	462,767	0.7%
	Conservative Party	1	1		0.2%	140,404	0.2%	0.1%
	Independent	0	0		0.0%	120,476	0.2%	0.1%
	Right to Life Party	0	0		0.0%	45,819	0.1%
	Milton Street Party	0	0		0.0%	35,205	0.1%	0.1%
	Peace and Freedom Party	0	0		0.0%	34,422	0.1%
	Others	0	0		0.0%	131,685	0.2%
Total		435	435	0	100.0%	63,880,844	100.0%
Source: Election Statistics – Office of the Clerk

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More information Popular vote ...

Popular vote

Democratic			55.23%
Republican			43.37%
Libertarian			0.72%
Conservative			0.22%
Others			0.46%

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More information House seats ...

House seats

Democratic			61.84%
Republican			37.93%
Conservative			0.23%

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More information House seats by party holding plurality in state, Change in seats ...

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39 representatives retired. 31 of those seats were held by the same party; 8 seats changed parties.

Democrats

18 Democrats retired. 11 of those seats were held by Democrats, 4 were won by Republicans, and 3 seats were eliminated in redistricting.

Democratic held

California 5: John L. Burton, was succeeded by Barbara Boxer (with district being renumbered as California 6).
Georgia 1: Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, to run for Governor of Georgia, was succeeded by Lindsay Thomas.
Michigan 17: William M. Brodhead, was succeeded by Sander Levin.
Missouri 5: Richard Bolling, was succeeded by Alan Wheat.
New York 12: Shirley Chisholm, was succeeded by Major Owens.
North Carolina 2: Lawrence H. Fountain, was succeeded by Tim Valentine.
South Carolina 5: Kenneth Lamar Holland, was succeeded by John Spratt.
Texas 5: Jim Mattox, to run for Attorney General of Texas, was succeeded by John Wiley Bryant.
Texas 16: Richard C. White, was succeeded by Ronald D. Coleman.
West Virginia 1: Bob Mollohan, was succeeded by Alan Mollohan.
Wisconsin 5: Henry Reuss, was succeeded by Jim Moody.

Republican gain

Connecticut 6: Toby Moffett, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Nancy Johnson.
Mississippi 2: David R. Bowen, was succeeded by Webb Franklin.
Nevada at-large: James David Santini, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Barbara Vucanovich (with district being renumbered as Nevada 2).
Pennsylvania 17: Allen E. Ertel, to run for Governor of Pennsylvania, was succeeded by George Gekas.

Seat eliminated in redistricting

Republicans

21 Republicans retired. 11 of those seats were held by Republicans, 4 were won by Democrats, and 6 seats were eliminated in redistricting.

As a result of redistricting, many incumbents were forced to compete against each other in the same district, which resulted in a larger number of incumbents being defeated in primaries.

In primary elections

10 representatives lost renomination: 6 lost in redistricting battles pitting incumbents against each other, and 4 lost nomination to non-incumbent challengers.

Democrats

6 Democrats lost renomination: 3 in redistricting races and 3 to a non-incumbent challenger. All the seats were held by Democrats.

Georgia 8: Billy Lee Evans lost to challenger J. Roy Rowland.
Illinois 5: John G. Fary lost to challenger Bill Lipinski.
Indiana 11: David W. Evans lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Andrew Jacobs Jr.
Ohio 19: Ronald M. Mottl lost to challenger Ed Feighan.
Pennsylvania 1: Joseph F. Smith lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Thomas M. Foglietta.
Pennsylvania 12: Donald A. Bailey lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent John Murtha.

Republicans

4 Republicans lost renomination: 3 in redistricting races and 1 to a non-incumbent challenger.

Seat held by a Republican

These primary winners later won the general election.

California 33: Wayne R. Grisham lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent David Dreier.
Illinois 4: Ed Derwinski lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent George M. O'Brien.
New York 27: Gary A. Lee lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent George C. Wortley.

Seat lost to a Democrat

Illinois 17: Tom Railsback lost to challenger Kenneth G. McMillan, who later lost the general election to Lane Evans.

In the general election

Democrats

Three incumbent Democrats lost re-election; two lost to Republican incumbents and one to a non-incumbent challenger.

Seat lost to a Republican incumbent

New York 14: Leo C. Zeferetti lost a redistricting race to Guy V. Molinari.
New York 22: Peter A. Peyser lost a redistricting race to Benjamin A. Gilman.

Seat lost to a Republican challenger

Ohio 12: Bob Shamansky lost to John Kasich.

Republicans

Twenty-six incumbent Republicans lost re-election; five loss to Democratic incumbents while twenty-one loss to non-incumbent challengers, ten of whom were first elected in 1980.