1986 United States elections

The 1986 United States elections were held on November 4 and elected the members of the 100th United States Congress. The elections occurred in the middle of Republican President Ronald Reagan's second term. Democrats regained unified control of both chambers of Congress for the first time since the 1980 elections.

1986 United States elections
1984          1985          1986          1987          1988
Midterm elections
Election dayNovember 4
Incumbent presidentRonald Reagan (Republican)
Next Congress100th
Senate elections
Overall controlDemocratic gain
Seats contested35 of 100 seats
(34 Class 3 seats + 1 special election)
Net seat changeDemocratic +8
1986 United States Senate elections in North Carolina1986 United States Senate election in Alabama1986 United States Senate election in Alaska1986 United States Senate election in Arizona1986 United States Senate election in Arkansas1986 United States Senate election in California1986 United States Senate election in Colorado1986 United States Senate election in Connecticut1986 United States Senate election in Florida1986 United States Senate election in Georgia1986 United States Senate election in Hawaii1986 United States Senate election in Idaho1986 United States Senate election in Illinois1986 United States Senate election in Indiana1986 United States Senate election in Iowa1986 United States Senate election in Kansas1986 United States Senate election in Kentucky1986 United States Senate election in Louisiana1986 United States Senate election in Maryland1986 United States Senate election in Missouri1986 United States Senate election in Nevada1986 United States Senate election in New Hampshire1986 United States Senate election in New York1986 United States Senate elections in North Carolina1986 United States Senate election in North Dakota1986 United States Senate election in Ohio1986 United States Senate election in Oklahoma1986 United States Senate election in Oregon1986 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1986 United States Senate election in South Carolina1986 United States Senate election in South Dakota1986 United States Senate election in Utah1986 United States Senate election in Vermont1986 United States Senate election in Washington1986 United States Senate election in Wisconsin
1986 Senate election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
House elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contestedAll 435 voting seats
Popular vote marginDemocratic +9.9%
Net seat changeDemocratic +5
1986 House of Representatives election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested38 (36 states, 2 territories)
Net seat changeRepublican +8
1986 Alabama gubernatorial election1986 Alaska gubernatorial election1986 Arizona gubernatorial election1986 Arkansas gubernatorial election1986 California gubernatorial election1986 Colorado gubernatorial election1986 Connecticut gubernatorial election1986 Florida gubernatorial election1986 Georgia gubernatorial election1986 Hawaii gubernatorial election1986 Idaho gubernatorial election1986 Illinois gubernatorial election1986 Iowa gubernatorial election1986 Kansas gubernatorial election1986 Maine gubernatorial election1986 Maryland gubernatorial election1986 Massachusetts gubernatorial election1986 Michigan gubernatorial election1986 Minnesota gubernatorial election1986 Nebraska gubernatorial election1986 Nevada gubernatorial election1986 New Hampshire gubernatorial election1986 New Mexico gubernatorial election1986 New York gubernatorial election1986 Ohio gubernatorial election1986 Oklahoma gubernatorial election1986 Oregon gubernatorial election1986 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election1986 Rhode Island gubernatorial election1986 South Carolina gubernatorial election1986 South Dakota gubernatorial election1986 Tennessee gubernatorial election1986 Texas gubernatorial election1986 Vermont gubernatorial election1986 Wisconsin gubernatorial election1986 Wyoming gubernatorial election
1986 gubernatorial election results
Territorial races not shown
  Republican hold
  Republican gain
  Democratic hold
  Democratic gain

In an instance of the six-year itch phenomenon, the Democrats won a net gain of eight seats to recapture control of the United States Senate, taking back the chamber for the first time since the 1980 elections. Democrats won the national popular vote for the House of Representatives by a margin of 7.7 percentage points, making a net gain of five seats.[1] Despite Democratic congressional gains, in the gubernatorial elections, the Republican Party picked up a net of eight governorships, making 1986 the last midterm election until 2022 that the president's party made gubernatorial gains.

The national campaign centered largely around the Senate, where Republicans defended a large freshman class of Senators. Despite sweeping Democratic gains, many of the losing Republicans incumbents lost by small margins. The Republican loss of the Senate put an effective check on any further major conservative legislation during the Reagan administration. The elections also had a major impact on the Supreme Court, as Republican losses helped ensure that Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court would be defeated by the Senate. After the Senate rejected the conservative Bork, Reagan instead nominated Anthony Kennedy, who became a critical swing vote on the court.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1986" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ Busch, Andrew (1999). Horses in Midstream. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 126–135.