Speaker of the House Champ Clark (D-Mo.), who retained his majority, although considerably shrunken from what it had been at the start of the Wilson Administration.

The 1914 midterms were rather peculiar. They were one of the midterms in which the president’s party lost seats in the House but gained in the Senate. Furthermore, this was the first election in which senators were popularly elected, and as I have covered before this impacted the makeup of the Senate. The Progressive Party remained a factor in a number of crucial elections which arguably resulted in Democratic wins. This election saw a future president get elected to the Senate in Warren G. Harding in Ohio, as well as the election of the first and only Prohibitionist member of Congress as well as the election of the second Socialist member of Congress. This would also be the first election won by James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. of New York, whose career was rather unusual in that he had his national start in the Senate, and then later served in the House. He would be a consistent voice for arch-conservatism on domestic issues and his advocacy for military preparedness but would notably differ with his party in his support for FDR’s foreign policy.

Republicans ran in the 1914 election on the platform of the economic policies of the Taft Administration producing prosperity seen at the time, and this saw big gains in their traditional stronghold of New England. In the Midwest, the Republican performance was a bit spottier. They did very well in Illinois and Iowa, but were only able to regain two seats from their complete wipe-out in the 1912 election in Indiana, gained a House seat in Kansas, lost a House and a Senate seat in South Dakota, and lost a Senate seat in Wisconsin. Democrats managed to keep a number of seats or make gains in the West, where Wilson was maintaining or gaining in popularity. An interesting example was in Utah, in which the state’s second district flipped from Republican to Democrat, and this would presage Wilson’s big win there in 1916 as well as Republican Senator George Sutherland’s loss and the loss of the first district. By stark contrast, the state had been one of only two to stick with William Howard Taft in 1912. It should be noted that a significant part of why Republicans made big gains in the House was because the 1912 split in the GOP had produced major gains in the House that year, Democrats having won seats they normally would not win. In Philadelphia, at the time a Republican stronghold in part thanks to its corrupt machine, Democrats had managed to snag two of the city’s Congressional districts, which came back under Republican control in this election. Republicans overall gained 62 seats in the House, a “shellacking” but not enough to win a majority, even though they did win the popular House vote. The Progressive Party loses a net of four seats; they were but a minor contender in national politics although as noted earlier, they ate away at Republican votes in some critical places. The Progressive Party’s influence would come to an end when Theodore Roosevelt decided to back Republican Charles Evans Hughes in the 1916 presidential election.

Republican Gains, House

In Colorado’s 2^nd district, Republican Charles Timberlake defeated Democrat Harry Seldomridge for reelection.

In Connecticut, Republicans had a clean sweep, with Democrats Augustine Lonergan, Bryan F. Mahan, Thomas Reilly, Jeremiah Donovan, and William Kennedy losing reelection to Republicans P. Davis Oakey, Richard Freeman, John Tilson, Ebenezer Hill, and James Glynn respectively.

In Delaware, Republican Thomas W. Miller defeated Democratic incumbent Franklin W. Brockson.

In Illinois, Republicans gained a whopping net of 11 seats. Republican Ira Copley switched to Progressive for his reelection and won. The most notable victor was former Speaker Joe Cannon regaining his seat in the 18^th district over Democrat Frank O’Hair. Progressives Charles Thomson and William Hinebaugh lose reelection to George Foss and Charles Fuller in the 10^th and 12^th districts respectively, while Democrats Louis FitzHenry, Charles Borchers, James Graham, William Baltz, H. Robert Fowler, Robert Hill, and Lawrence Stringer lose reelection to John Sterling, William B. McKinley, Loren Wheeler, William Rodenberg, Thomas Williams, Edward Denison, and Burnett Chiperfield respectively. Republican William Wilson would win an open seat in the 3rd district.

In Indiana, Republicans Merrill Moores and William Wood defeated Democratic incumbents Charles Korbly and John Peterson in the 7^th and 10^th districts respectively.

In Iowa, Republicans Harry Hull, Burton Sweet, and C. William Ramseyer win in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th districts respectively. They all win open seats.

In Maryland, Republican Sydney Mudd wins an open seat in the 5^th district.

In Massachusetts, Republican George Tinkham wins an open seat in the 11^th district while Republicans William H. Carter and Joseph Walsh defeat incumbents John Mitchell and Thomas Thacher in the 13^th and 16^th districts respectively.

In Michigan, Republicans George Loud and W. Frank James defeat Progressive incumbents Roy Woodruff and William J. MacDonald in the 10^th and 12^th districts respectively.

In Minnesota, Republican Franklin Ellsworth wins an open seat in Minnesota’s 2^nd district.

In Nebraska, Republican C. Frank Reavis defeats Democrat John Maguire for reelection in the 1^st district.

In New Hampshire, Democrat Eugene E. Reed of the 1^st district loses reelection to Republican Cyrus Sulloway and Democrat Raymond B. Stevens of the 2^nd district runs for the Senate (he loses) and is succeeded by Republican Edward Wason.

In New Jersey, Republicans gain five seats. At the start of the 63^rd Congress, William J. Browning of the 1^st district was initially the only Republican, but Dow Drukker won a special election during the Congress. Democrats J. Thompson Baker, Allan B. Walsh, William Tuttle, and Edward Townsend lost reelection to Isaac Bacharach, Elijah Hutchinson, John Capstick, and Frederick Lehlbach respectively. Republican Richard Parker wins an open seat.

In New Mexico, Republican Benigno Hernandez defeats Democrat Harvey B. Fergusson for reelection. Hernandez is the first Hispanic American in Congress.

In New York, Republicans gain eleven seats. Democratic incumbents Lathrop Brown, James O’Brien, Jacob Cantor, Benjamin Taylor, George McClellan, Peter Ten Eyck, Charles Talcott, John Clancy, and Robert Gittins lose to Frederick Hicks, Oscar Swift, Isaac Siegel, James Husted, Charles Ward, Rollin Sanford, Homer Snyder, Walter Magee, and S. Wallace Dempsey respectively.

In North Carolina, Republican James J. Britt defeats Democrat James M. Gudger Jr. for reelection in the 10^th district.

In Ohio, Republicans gain ten seats. Most notably, future Speaker Nicholas Longworth regains his seat from Democrat Stanley Bowdle in the 1^st district. Democrats George White, William Francis, and Elsworth Bathrick lose reelection to William Mooney in the 15^th district, Roscoe McCulloch of the 16^th district, and John Cooper of the 19^th district respectively. Republicans Joshua Russell, Nelson Matthews, Charles Kearns, Seward Williams, David Hollingsworth, and Henry Emerson win open seats.

In Pennsylvania, Republicans gain a net of eight seats, with Democrats Michael Donohoe, J. Washington Logue, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Dershem, Andrew Brodbeck, and Wooda Carr losing reelection to Peter Costello, George Darrow, Robert Heaton, Benjamin Focht, C. William Beales, and Robert F. Hopwood. Progressives Henry Temple and Willis Hulings lose reelection to Republicans William M. Brown and Samuel H. Miller.

In Rhode Island, Republican Walter Stiness defeats Democrat Peter Gerry for reelection in the 2^nd district.

Democratic Gains, House

In Iowa, Democrat Thomas Steele defeats Republican George Scott for reelection in the 11^th district.

In Kansas, Republican Victor Murdock steps down to run for the Senate as a Progressive and Democrat William Ayres wins an open seat in the 8^th district.

In Minnesota, Democrat Carl Van Dyke defeats Republican Frederick Stevens for reelection.

In Nebraska, Democrat Ashton Shallenberger defeats Republican Silas Barton for reelection in the 5^th district.

In Oklahoma, Democrat James Davenport wins an open seat in the 1^st district from retiring Republican Bird McGuire.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Michael Liebel defeats Republican Milton Shreve for reelection. It is a three-way race in which a Progressive candidate gets 23.5% of the vote.

In South Dakota, Democrat Harry Gandy wins the open seat in the 3^rd district.

In Utah, Democrat James Mays wins the open seat in the 2^nd district.

In West Virginia, Democrat Adam Littlepage defeats Republican Samuel B. Avis for reelection in the 3^rd district.

In Washington, Democrat Clarence Dill wins in the 5^th district.

Democratic Gains, Senate

In California, Democrat James Phelan wins the election to succeed retiring Republican George Perkins.

In South Dakota, Republican Coe Crawford loses renomination to Congressman Charles Burke, but Burke loses the election to Democrat Edwin Johnson.

In Wisconsin, Democrat Paul Husting narrowly wins the election to succeed retiring Republican Isaac Stephenson.

Progressive Gains:

In California’s 6^th district, Republican Joseph Knowland retires and is succeeded by John A. Elston.

In Illinois’ 11^th district, Ira C. Copley switches from Republican to Progressive and wins.

In Louisiana’s 3^rd district, Progressive Whitmell P. Martin wins an open seat.

In Minnesota, Progressive Thomas Schall wins an open Republican seat in the 10^th district.

Other Gains:

In California, Prohibitionist Charles Randall defeats Progressive Charles W. Bell for reelection in the 9^th district.

In New York, Socialist Meyer London defeats Democrat Henry Goldfogle for reelection in the 14^th district.

Renomination Losses:

In Alabama’s 6^th district, Democrat Richmond P. Hobson lost renomination to William B. Oliver.

In Florida’s at-Large District, Claude L’Engle, who barely voted, lost to William J. Sears.

In Louisiana, Democrat James W. Elder lost renomination to Riley J. Wilson in the 5^th district.

In Maryland, Democrat Frank Smith lost renomination to Richard A. Johnson in the 5^th district, who loses to Republican Sydney Mudd.

In Missouri’s 12^th district, Democrat Michael Gill loses renomination, and the seat is won by Republican Leonidas C. Dyer.

In New York, Democrats Frank Wilson, Jefferson Levy, and Henry George Jr. lose renomination to Joseph Flynn in the 3^rd district, Michael Farley in the 14^th district, and G. Murray Hulbert in the 21^st district respectively, all who win the election. Democrats Herman Metz and Edwin Underhill lose renomination in the 10^th and 37^th districts respectively, and the victors lose the election to Republicans. Republican Samuel Wallin loses renomination to William Charles in the 30^th district, who wins his election.

In Ohio, Democrat J. Henry Goeke lost renomination in the 4^th district, and the victor lost the seat.

In Oklahoma, Democrat Claude Weaver loses to Joseph B. Thompson.

In Oregon, Republican Walter Lafferty of the 3^rd district ran for reelection as an Independent and lost to Republican Clifton MacArthur.

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Robert Difenderfer loses renomination to Harry E. Grim in the 8^th district, who loses the election. Democrat John Rothermel loses renomination to Arthur Dewalt, who wins the election in the 13^th district.

In Washington, Progressive James W. Bryan loses renomination to Austin E. Griffith, who loses the election in the 1^st district.

This election resulted in a Democratic House majority of 230-196 and 7 third party members, which would place Republicans in a good position in 1916, but they fell short in enough places so that a coalition of Democrats and third party members would retain a majority in the succeeding Congress. The Senate had a 56-39 Democratic majority, which was a bit of a tougher hurdle for Republicans to come back from.

References

1914 United States House of Representatives elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections

1914 United States Senate elections. Wikipedia.

Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914_United_States_Senate_elections