1954 Midterm Elections

In the midterm elections of 1954, the Democratic Party gained 19 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and two seats in the U.S. Senate from the Republican Party, enough to give them a narrow majority in both houses of Congress. They would retain the majority in the House until 1995.

Republicans praised the Eisenhower administration, the economy was prosperous and the Korean War ended. Democrats focused on local issues, talking about economic hardships of farmers and rallied around their labor constituency by attacking the Taft-Hartley Act, which monitors the activities and power of labor unions.