1898 United States House of Representatives elections

The 1898 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 8, 1898, with Oregon, Maine, and Vermont holding theirs early in either June or September. They were held during the middle of President William McKinley's first term. Elections were held for 357 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 45 states, to serve in the 56th United States Congress. Special elections were also held throughout the year.

1898 United States House of Representatives elections
June 6, September 6, September 12, and November 8, 1898
All 357 seats in the United States House of Representatives
179 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader David Henderson James Richardson
Party Republican Democratic
Leader since March 4, 1899 March 4, 1899
Leader's seat Iowa 3rd Tennessee 5th
Last election 206 seats 124 seats
Seats won 187 161
Seat change 19 37
Popular vote 5,305,230 4,828,592
Percentage 48.55% 44.18%
Swing 0.22% 3.19%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Party Populist Silver Republican
Last election 22 2
Seats won 5 2
Seat change 17
Popular vote 463,059 60,805
Percentage 4.24% 0.56%
Swing 2.62% 0.46%
  Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Silver Independent
Last election 1 1
Seats won 1 1
Seat change
Popular vote 5,766 96,537
Percentage 0.05% 0.88%
Swing 0.31%
Speaker before election

Thomas Reed
Republican

 Elected Speaker

David Henderson
Republican

As in many midterm elections, the President's Republican Party lost seats, but was able to hold a majority over the Democratic Party. The Populist Party also lost many seats, as their movement began to decline. This was likely because many Populists rallied behind William Jennings Bryan's increasingly powerful branch of the Democratic Party, which built the rural economic issues advocated by Populists into their platform. As a result, the Democrats won a number of Western seats as well many in the Mid-Atlantic.

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