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1974 United States elections

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1974 United States elections
1972          1973          1974          1975          1976
Midterm elections
Election dayNovember 5
Incumbent presidentGerald Ford (Republican)
Next Congress94th
Senate elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contested34 of 100 seats
Net seat changeDemocratic +4
1974 United States Senate election in Alabama1974 United States Senate election in Alaska1974 United States Senate election in Arizona1974 United States Senate election in Arkansas1974 United States Senate election in California1974 United States Senate election in Colorado1974 United States Senate election in Connecticut1974 United States Senate election in Florida1974 United States Senate election in Georgia1974 United States Senate election in Hawaii1974 United States Senate election in Idaho1974 United States Senate election in Illinois1974 United States Senate election in Indiana1974 United States Senate election in Iowa1974 United States Senate election in Kansas1974 United States Senate election in Kentucky1974 United States Senate election in Louisiana1974 United States Senate election in Maryland1974 United States Senate election in Missouri1974 United States Senate election in Nevada1974 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1974 United States Senate election in New York1974 United States Senate election in North Carolina1974 United States Senate election in North Dakota1974 United States Senate election in Ohio1974 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1974 United States Senate election in Oregon1974 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1974 United States Senate election in South Carolina1974 United States Senate election in South Dakota1974 United States Senate election in Utah1974 United States Senate election in Vermont1974 United States Senate election in Washington1974 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
1974 Senate election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
House elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contestedAll 435 voting seats
Popular vote marginDemocratic +16.8%
Net seat changeDemocratic +45
1974 House of Representatives election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested37 (35 states, 2 territories)
Net seat changeDemocratic +4
1974 Alabama gubernatorial election1974 Alaska gubernatorial election1974 Arizona gubernatorial election1974 Arkansas gubernatorial election1974 California gubernatorial election1974 Colorado gubernatorial election1974 Connecticut gubernatorial election1974 Florida gubernatorial election1974 Georgia gubernatorial election1974 Hawaii gubernatorial election1974 Idaho gubernatorial election1974 Iowa gubernatorial election1974 Kansas gubernatorial election1974 Maine gubernatorial election1974 Maryland gubernatorial election1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election1974 Michigan gubernatorial election1974 Minnesota gubernatorial election1974 Nebraska gubernatorial election1974 Nevada gubernatorial election1974 New Hampshire gubernatorial election1974 New Mexico gubernatorial election1974 New York gubernatorial election1974 Ohio gubernatorial election1974 Oklahoma gubernatorial election1974 Oregon gubernatorial election1974 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election1974 Rhode Island gubernatorial election1974 South Carolina gubernatorial election1974 South Dakota gubernatorial election1974 Tennessee gubernatorial election1974 Texas gubernatorial election1974 Vermont gubernatorial election1974 Wisconsin gubernatorial election1974 Wyoming gubernatorial election
1974 gubernatorial election results
Territorial races not shown

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold
  Republican gain   Republican hold

  Independent gain

The 1974 United States elections were held on November 5. The elections occurred in the wake of the Watergate scandal and three months into the term of Republican President Gerald Ford. Democrats expanded their majorities in both houses of Congress.

Ford's granting of a pardon to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, along with soaring inflation caused by the 1973 oil crisis, created a tough environment for the Republican Party. Democrats won net gains of four seats in the Senate, 49 seats in the House of Representatives, and four seats in the gubernatorial elections. Many of the newly elected Democrats were Northern liberals, shifting the balance of power away from conservative Southern Democrats.

Federal elections

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United States Senate

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The Democrats made a net gain of four Senate seats from the Republicans. Democrat John A. Durkin won a special election in New Hampshire after the Senate voided the original contested election. After the special election, Democrats possessed 60 seats to 38 for the Republicans, with one independent who caucused with the Democrats and one Conservative who caucused with the Republicans.

United States House of Representatives

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The Democrats won the nationwide popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 16.8 points.[1] This translated to a net gain of 49 seats from the Republicans, increasing the party's majority above the two-thirds mark.

Many of the newly elected Democrats in the House and Senate were liberal northerners (known as Watergate Babies), and the influx of liberals moved power away from the conservative southern Democrats who held most committee chairs in both houses.[2]

State elections

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The Democratic Party picked up a net of four seats in the gubernatorial elections and picked up four seats in U.S. Senate as well.

References

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  1. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1974" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ Sinclair, Barbara (2006). Party Wars. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 9780806137797.