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2018 United States House of Representatives elections

House elections for the 116th U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2018 United States House of Representatives elections
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The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2018, as part of the 2018 midterm elections during President Donald Trump's first term, with early voting taking place in some states in the weeks preceding that date. Voters chose representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states to serve in the 116th United States Congress. Non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and four of the five inhabited U.S. territories[f] were also elected. On election day, Republicans had held a House majority since January 2011.[4]

Quick facts All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives 218 seats needed for a majority, Turnout ...

In the 2018 elections, the Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, won control of the House. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats from the total number of seats they had won in the 2016 elections. The 41-seat gain was the Democrats' largest gain of House seats since the post-Watergate 1974 elections, when they picked up 49 seats. This was the first time since 1954 that Democrats flipped a chamber of Congress in a Republican president's first midterm. Democrats also won the popular vote by an 8.6% margin, the largest margin of victory for any party during a midterm election since 1986.

Upon the opening of the 116th Congress, Pelosi was elected as Speaker of the House.[5] Incumbent Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan chose not to run for another term.[6] In November 2018, House Republicans elected Kevin McCarthy as House Minority Leader.[7]

The House Republicans' passage of the widely unpopular American Health Care Act of 2017 to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as well as opposition to Trump's policies, his low approval ratings, and questions about his personal stamina for office, are credited for the Democratic takeover of the House.[8][9]

This marks the last time Democrats won any House seats in Oklahoma and Utah; the last time they won a majority of seats in Iowa and Minnesota; and the last time they won every seat based in New York City and Orange County, California. As of 2025, this is the last time any party won at least 230 House seats.

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Results summary and analysis

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The Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats from the total number of seats they had won in the 2016 elections. This was their largest gain of House seats in an election since the 1974 elections, when the Democrats gained 49 House seats.[10][11][12][13] Democrats won the popular vote by more than 9.7 million votes, or 8.6%,[14] the largest midterm margin for any party[15] and the largest margin on record for a minority party.[16]

According to the Associated Press' statistical analysis, gerrymandering cost the Democrats an additional sixteen House seats from Republicans.[17]

Voter turnout in this election was 50.3%,[1] the highest turnout in a U.S. midterm election since 1914.[18]

Note that the results summary does not include blank and over/under votes which were included in the official results or votes cast in the voided election in North Carolina's 9th congressional district.

235 199
Democratic Republican
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Per states

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Maps

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Retirements

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Map showing districts of incumbents who did not seek re-election — in dark blue (Democrats) and dark red (Republicans)

In the November general elections, 55 incumbents did not seek re-election, some of whom sought other elected office.

Democrats

18 Democrats did not seek re-election.

  1. Arizona 9: Kyrsten Sinema retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  2. Colorado 2: Jared Polis retired to run for governor of Colorado.[20]
  3. Connecticut 5: Elizabeth Esty retired after involvement in sexual harassment allegations against an employee.[20][21]
  4. Hawaii 1: Colleen Hanabusa retired to run for governor of Hawaii.[20]
  5. Illinois 4: Luis Gutiérrez retired.[20]
  6. Maryland 6: John Delaney retired to run for U.S. president.[20]
  7. Massachusetts 3: Niki Tsongas retired.[20]
  8. Michigan 9: Sander Levin retired.[20]
  9. Minnesota 1: Tim Walz retired to run for governor of Minnesota.[20]
  10. Minnesota 5: Keith Ellison retired to run for Minnesota attorney general.[22]
  11. Minnesota 8: Rick Nolan retired to run for lieutenant governor of Minnesota.[23][24]
  12. Nevada 3: Jacky Rosen retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  13. Nevada 4: Rubén Kihuen retired due to sexual harassment allegations.[25]
  14. New Hampshire 1: Carol Shea-Porter retired.[20]
  15. New Mexico 1: Michelle Lujan Grisham retired to run for governor of New Mexico.[20]
  16. Pennsylvania 2: Bob Brady retired after being redistricted from the 1st district.[20]
  17. Texas 16: Beto O'Rourke retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  18. Texas 29: Gene Green retired.[20]

Republicans

37 Republicans did not seek re-election.

  1. Arizona 2: Martha McSally retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  2. California 39: Ed Royce retired.[20]
  3. California 49: Darrell Issa retired, nominated by President Donald Trump to be the director of the United States Trade and Development Agency.[20]
  4. Florida 6: Ron DeSantis retired to run for governor of Florida.
  5. Florida 15: Dennis Ross retired.[26]
  6. Florida 17: Tom Rooney retired.[27][28]
  7. Florida 27: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen retired.[20]
  8. Idaho 1: Raúl Labrador retired to run for governor of Idaho.[20]
  9. Indiana 4: Todd Rokita retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  10. Indiana 6: Luke Messer retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  11. Kansas 2: Lynn Jenkins retired.[20]
  12. Michigan 11: Dave Trott retired.[20]
  13. Mississippi 3: Gregg Harper retired.[20]
  14. New Jersey 2: Frank LoBiondo retired "due to the increased political polarization of Congress."[29]
  15. New Jersey 11: Rodney Frelinghuysen retired.[20]
  16. New Mexico 2: Steve Pearce retired to run for governor of New Mexico.[20]
  17. North Dakota at-large: Kevin Cramer retired to run for U.S. senator.[30]
  18. Ohio 16: Jim Renacci retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  19. Oklahoma 1: Jim Bridenstine announced his retirement November 10, 2017. He resigned April 23, 2018, after being confirmed as administrator of NASA; his replacement was seated November 6, 2018.
  20. Pennsylvania 6: Ryan Costello retired due to "family, the political environment and redistricting."[31]
  21. Pennsylvania 9: Lou Barletta, redistricted from the 11th district, retired to run for U.S. senator.[20]
  22. Pennsylvania 13: Bill Shuster retired when redistricted from the 9th district.[20]
  23. South Carolina 4: Trey Gowdy retired to "return to the justice system."[32]
  24. South Dakota at-large: Kristi Noem retired to run for governor of South Dakota.[20]
  25. Tennessee 2: Jimmy Duncan retired.[20]
  26. Tennessee 6: Diane Black retired to run for governor of Tennessee.[20]
  27. Tennessee 7: Marsha Blackburn retired to run for U.S. senator.[33]
  28. Texas 2: Ted Poe retired.[20]
  29. Texas 3: Sam Johnson retired.[20]
  30. Texas 5: Jeb Hensarling retired.[20]
  31. Texas 6: Joe Barton retired.[20]
  32. Texas 21: Lamar Smith retired.[20]
  33. Virginia 5: Tom Garrett retired due to alcoholism.[34]
  34. Virginia 6: Bob Goodlatte retired.[20]
  35. Washington 8: Dave Reichert retired.[20]
  36. West Virginia 3: Evan Jenkins retired to run for U.S. senator and then resigned to become State Supreme Court Justice.
  37. Wisconsin 1: Paul Ryan retired.[20]
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Vacancies during the 115th Congress that resulted in a special election

Democrats

  1. New York 25: Louise Slaughter died on March 16, 2018.

Republicans

  1. Arizona 8: Trent Franks resigned on December 8, 2017.
  2. Ohio 12: Pat Tiberi resigned on January 15, 2018.
  3. Pennsylvania 5: Pat Meehan resigned on April 27, 2018, after being redistricted from the 7th district.
  4. Pennsylvania 7: Charlie Dent resigned on May 12, 2018, after being redistricted to the 15th district.
  5. Texas 27: Blake Farenthold (R) announced his retirement December 14, 2017. He resigned on April 6, 2018.
  6. Utah 3: Jason Chaffetz (R) announced his retirement April 19, 2017. He resigned on June 30, 2017.

Incumbents defeated

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In primary elections

Democrats

Three Democrats (including one non-voting delegate) lost renomination.

  1. Guam at-large: Delegate Madeleine Bordallo lost renomination to Michael San Nicolas, who went on to win the general election.[35][36]
  2. Massachusetts 7: Mike Capuano lost renomination to Ayanna Pressley, who went on to win the general election.[37]
  3. New York 14: Joe Crowley lost renomination to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who went on to win the general election.[37]

Republicans

Two Republicans lost renomination.[37]

  1. North Carolina 9: Robert Pittenger lost renomination to Mark Harris. A new special election was ordered due to electoral fraud conducted by associates of Republican Harris's campaign.[b]
  2. South Carolina 1: Mark Sanford lost renomination to Katie Arrington, who lost the general election to Joe Cunningham (D).

In the general election

Democrats

No Democrats lost re-election to Republicans.[38]

Republicans

Thirty Republicans lost re-election to Democrats.[38]

  1. California 10: Jeff Denham (first elected in 2010) lost to Josh Harder.
  2. California 21: David Valadao (first elected in 2012) lost to TJ Cox.
  3. California 25: Steve Knight (first elected in 2014) lost to Katie Hill.
  4. California 45: Mimi Walters (first elected in 2014) lost to Katie Porter.
  5. California 48: Dana Rohrabacher (first elected in 1988) lost to Harley Rouda.
  6. Colorado 6: Mike Coffman (first elected in 2008) lost to Jason Crow.
  7. Florida 26: Carlos Curbelo (first elected in 2014) lost to Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
  8. Georgia 6: Karen Handel (first elected in 2017) lost to Lucy McBath.
  9. Illinois 6: Peter Roskam (first elected in 2006) lost to Sean Casten.
  10. Illinois 14: Randy Hultgren (first elected in 2010) lost to Lauren Underwood.
  11. Iowa 1: Rod Blum (first elected in 2014) lost to Abby Finkenauer.
  12. Iowa 3: David Young (first elected in 2014) lost to Cindy Axne.
  13. Kansas 3: Kevin Yoder (first elected in 2010) lost to Sharice Davids.
  14. Maine 2: Bruce Poliquin (first elected in 2014) lost to Jared Golden.
  15. Michigan 8: Mike Bishop (first elected in 2014) lost to Elissa Slotkin.
  16. Minnesota 2: Jason Lewis (first elected in 2016) lost to Angie Craig.
  17. Minnesota 3: Erik Paulsen (first elected in 2008) lost to Dean Phillips.
  18. New Jersey 3: Tom MacArthur (first elected in 2014) lost to Andy Kim.
  19. New Jersey 7: Leonard Lance (first elected in 2008) lost to Tom Malinowski.
  20. New York 11: Dan Donovan (first elected in 2015) lost to Max Rose.
  21. New York 19: John Faso (first elected in 2016) lost to Antonio Delgado.
  22. New York 22: Claudia Tenney (first elected in 2016) lost to Anthony Brindisi.[39]
  23. Oklahoma 5: Steve Russell (first elected in 2014) lost to Kendra Horn.
  24. Pennsylvania 17: Keith Rothfus (first elected in 2012) lost a redistricting race to Conor Lamb.
  25. Texas 7: John Culberson (first elected in 2000) lost to Lizzie Fletcher.
  26. Texas 32: Pete Sessions (first elected in 1996) lost to Colin Allred.
  27. Utah 4: Mia Love (first elected in 2014) lost to Ben McAdams.
  28. Virginia 2: Scott Taylor (first elected in 2016) lost to Elaine Luria.
  29. Virginia 7: Dave Brat (first elected in 2014) lost to Abigail Spanberger.
  30. Virginia 10: Barbara Comstock (first elected in 2014) lost to Jennifer Wexton.
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Open seats that changed parties

Democratic seats won by Republicans

Three open Democratic seats were won by Republicans.

  1. Minnesota 1: won by Jim Hagedorn.[40]
  2. Minnesota 8: won by Pete Stauber.[41]
  3. Pennsylvania 14: Conor Lamb instead ran in the 17th district; won by Guy Reschenthaler.[41]

Republican seats won by Democrats

Thirteen open Republican seats were won by Democrats.

  1. Arizona 2: won by Ann Kirkpatrick.
  2. California 39: won by Gil Cisneros.
  3. California 49: won by Mike Levin.
  4. Florida 27: won by Donna Shalala.
  5. Michigan 11: won by Haley Stevens.
  6. New Jersey 2: won by Jeff Van Drew, who later became a Republican on December 19, 2019.[42]
  7. New Jersey 11: won by Mikie Sherrill.
  8. New Mexico 2: won by Xochitl Torres Small.
  9. Pennsylvania 5: won by Mary Gay Scanlon.
  10. Pennsylvania 6: won by Chrissy Houlahan.
  11. Pennsylvania 7: won by Susan Wild.
  12. South Carolina 1: won by Joe Cunningham.
  13. Washington 8: won by Kim Schrier.
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Open seats that parties held

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Vacancies during the 115th Congress that did not result in a special election

Three Republicans, all of whom had already announced their retirement, resigned early.

  1. Florida 6: Ron DeSantis resigned on September 10, 2018, retroactive to September 1, to focus on his campaign for Governor of Florida.[43][44] This seat was then left vacant until the 116th Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2019.
  2. Oklahoma 1: Jim Bridenstine resigned on April 23, 2018, to become head of NASA.[45] This seat was then left vacant until Kevin Hern was sworn in early on November 13, 2018, having won the regularly scheduled November 6, 2018 election for the next full term.[46][47]
  3. West Virginia 3: Evan Jenkins announced his retirement May 8, 2017, to run for U.S. Senator.[20] He lost the nomination and then resigned September 30, 2018, when appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. This seat was then left vacant until the 116th Congress was sworn in on January 3, 2019.
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Closest races

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Eighty-nine races were decided by 10% or lower.

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Election ratings

Special elections

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Elections ordered by election date.

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Exit poll

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Source: Edison Research exit poll for the National Election Pool[51]

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Election dates

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For the regularly scheduled November elections.

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Alabama

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The state congressional delegation remained the same, at 6–1 for Republicans.

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Alaska

Republicans maintained control of the sole seat in the state.

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Arizona

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The state congressional delegation flipped from a 5–4 Republican majority to a 5–4 Democratic majority.

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Arkansas

The state congressional delegation remained the same with a 4–0 Republican majority.

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California

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The Democratic majority increased from 39–14 to 46–7.

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Colorado

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The state congressional delegation flipped from a 4–3 Republican majority to a 4–3 Democratic majority.

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Connecticut

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The state congressional delegation remained unchanged at 5–0 Democrats.

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Delaware

Democrats retained control of the sole seat in the state.

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Florida

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The Republican majority was reduced from 16–11 to 14–13.

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Georgia

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The Republican majority was reduced from 10–4 to 9–5.

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Hawaii

Hawaii maintained its 2-0 Democratic hold.

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Idaho

Idaho maintained its 2-0 Republican hold.

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Illinois

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The Democratic majority increased from 11–7 to 13–5.

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Indiana

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The Republican majority remained at 7–2.

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Iowa

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Iowa's delegation flipped from a 3–1 Republican majority to a 3–1 Democratic majority.

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Kansas

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The Republican majority slipped from 4–0 to 3–1.

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Kentucky

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Republicans maintained their 5–1 majority.

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Louisiana

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All incumbents were re-elected, and Republicans maintained their 5–1 majority.

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Maine

The 1–1 tie became a 2–0 Democratic hold. This was the first use of ranked choice voting to decide a House race.

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Maryland

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Democrats maintained their 7–1 majority.

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Massachusetts

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Democrats maintained their 9–0 hold.

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Michigan

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The delegation flipped from a 9–5 Republican majority to a 7–7 split.

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Minnesota

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Although half of the seats switched parties, Democrats maintained the same 5–3 majority.

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Mississippi

The Republicans maintained their 3–1 majority in the state.

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Missouri

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The Republicans maintained their 6-2 seat majority.

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Montana

Republicans maintained control of the lone house seat.

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Nebraska

Republicans maintained their 3–0 majority.

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Nevada

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Democrats maintained their 3–1 majority.

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New Hampshire

The Democrats maintained control of both house seats.

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New Jersey

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The state congressional delegation changed from 7–5 for Democrats to 11–1 for Democrats.

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New Mexico

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The state congressional delegation changed from 2–1 for Democrats to all 3 seats controlled by Democrats.

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New York

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Democrats increased their seat majority in New York's congressional delegation from 18–9 to 21–6.

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North Carolina

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Due to allegations of electoral fraud, the 116th Congress was sworn in with one seat vacant.[86][87] On February 21, 2019, a new election was ordered by the state election board.[88]

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North Dakota

Republicans maintained control of the sole house seat.

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Ohio

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The state congressional delegation remained the same at 12–4 for Republicans.

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Oklahoma

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The state congressional delegation changed from 5–0 for Republicans to a 4–1 Republican majority.

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Oregon

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The state congressional delegation remained the same, with a 4–1 Democratic majority.

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Pennsylvania

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As a result of changes in the congressional map, the state congressional delegation changed from a 13–5 Republican majority to a 9–9 split.

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Rhode Island

The state congressional delegation remained unchanged at 2–0 for Democrats.

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South Carolina

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The state congressional delegation changed from 6–1 for Republicans to 5–2 for Republicans.

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South Dakota

Republicans retained control of the sole seat in the state.

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Tennessee

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Republicans maintained their 7-2 seat majority.

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Texas

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The state congressional delegation changed from a 25–11 Republican majority to a 23–13 Republican majority.

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Utah

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The state congressional delegation changed from 4–0 for Republicans to a 3–1 Republican majority.

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Vermont

The Democrats maintained control of the sole seat in the state.

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Virginia

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The state congressional delegation flipped from a 7–4 Republican majority to a 7–4 Democratic majority.

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Washington

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Democrats increased their seat majority from 6–4 to 7–3.

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West Virginia

The state congressional delegation remained the same at 3–0 for Republicans.

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Wisconsin

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Republicans maintained their 5-3 seat majority.

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Wyoming

Republicans maintained control of the sole seat in the state.

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Non-voting delegates

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American Samoa

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District of Columbia

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Guam

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Northern Mariana Islands

The election for a non-voting delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands was postponed until Tuesday, November 13, 2018, due to the impact of Typhoon Yutu.[113]

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Puerto Rico

The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico is not up for re-election until 2020.[108] Currently held by Republican Jenniffer González, who was first elected in 2016, the Resident Commissioner is the only member of the United States House of Representatives to serve a four-year term.[108]

United States Virgin Islands

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See also

Notes

  1. In addition, five of the six non-voting delegates in the U.S. House of Representatives were elected.
  2. Results from North Carolina's 9th congressional district were voided, leading to a September 2019 special election that was retained by the GOP.
  3. This figure represents the difference between the number of Democrats seated when the 116th Congress convened in January 2019 (235) and the number of Democrats seated when the 115th Congress convened in January 2017 (194).
  4. This figure represents the difference between the number of Republicans seated when the 116th Congress convened in January 2019 (199) and the number of Republicans seated when the 115th Congress convened in January 2017 (241).
  5. The 116th Congress has one vacancy in the House of Representatives.[19] For further information, see 2018 North Carolina's 9th congressional district election#Refusal of certification.
  6. Not including the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, who serves a four-year term.
  7. This seat was the tipping point seat for a Democratic majority.
  8. All races were decided on the initial primary date, eliminating the need for a runoff.
  9. Louisiana will hold runoff election(s) on December 8, 2018, for any race in which no one candidate wins a majority of the vote in the November jungle primary.
  10. Galvin won the Democratic nomination as an "Undeclared" candidate. She would be listed on the ballot as "Undeclared" and the nominee of the Democratic Party.
  11. On September 24, 2018, the Democratic nominee in Florida's 17th congressional district, April Freeman, died. On October 1, 2018, Ellison was announced as her replacement on the ballot.
  12. The Libertarian Party does not have ballot access in Ohio or Tennessee. Therefore, Libertarian candidates Johnathan Miller (Ohio's 15th district), Greg Samples (Tennessee's 2nd district), and David Ross (Tennessee's 6th district) appear on their ballots as "Independents."[92]

References

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