1916 United States House of Representatives elections

1916 United States House of Representatives elections were elections for the United States House of Representatives to elect members to serve in the 65th United States Congress. They were held for the most part on November 7, 1916, while Maine held theirs on September 11. They coincided with the re-election of President Woodrow Wilson.

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

1916 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1914 November 7, 1916[a] 1918 →
All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives 218 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader James Mann Champ Clark Party Republican Democratic Leader since March 4, 1911 March 4, 1909 Leader's seat Illinois 2nd Missouri 9th Last election 196 seats 230 seats Seats won 215[b] 214[c] Seat change 19 16 Popular vote 8,052,247 7,641,274 Percentage 48.09% 45.64% Swing 5.47pp 3.68pp   Third party Fourth party   Party Progressive Socialist Last election 6 seats 1 seat Seats won 3 1 Seat change 3 Popular vote 131,103[d] 604,304 Percentage 0.78% 3.61% Swing 7.22pp 0.93pp   Fifth party Sixth party   Party Prohibition Independent Last election 1 seat 1 seat Seats won 1 1[e] Seat change Popular vote 248,451 65,586 Percentage 1.48% 0.39% Swing 0.20pp 0.16pp
Results:      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain      Progressive hold      Progressive gain      Prohibition hold      Socialist hold
Speaker before election Champ Clark Democratic Elected Speaker Champ Clark Democratic

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Wilson eked out a narrow re-election, but his Democratic Party lost seats to the Republican Party. Wilson's hybrid approach, which injected a progressive element into Democratic policies, had proved to be dissatisfying to much of the nation. International affairs also became important in the traditionally non-interventionist United States, as voters attempted to determine which party would be best served to keep the nation from entering the Great War.

Republicans won a plurality of seats in the 1916 election. However, when the 65th Congress convened in April 1917, the Democrats narrowly maintained control of the House, forming an alliance with third-party (Progressive and Socialist) members. Not since the 34th Congress (1855–1857) had the party with the most seats not been part of the ruling government. This Congress is the last example to date of a type of coalition holding power in the House, rather than a single party winning a majority of seats. This was also the last time that no party in the house held an overall majority.

Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, became the first woman ever elected to congress.