1902 United States House of Representatives elections
The 1902 United States House of Representatives elections were held for the most part on November 4, 1902, with Oregon, Maine, and Vermont holding theirs early in either June or September. They occurred in the middle of President Theodore Roosevelt's first term, about a year after the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901. Elections were held for 386 seats of the United States House of Representatives, representing 45 states, to serve in the 58th United States Congress.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 386 seats in the United States House of Representatives 194 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Due to the increased size of the House and the reapportionment that resulted from the 1900 U.S. census, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party both gained seats simultaneously, which has not occurred in any elections since. The Democrats increased their share of the House, but not by enough to regain control.
With a stable economy and no cornerstone issue, Democratic gains can mostly be linked to the effects of redistricting. Many of the new seats were in areas with high numbers of immigrants (mostly Eastern and Southern European industrial workers, and Northern European farmers), with new immigrants tending to vote Democrat. The Populist Party disappeared from the House, with its supporters almost unanimously switching to the Democratic Party.
This election marked the third and most recent time in American history where the incumbent president's party gained House seats in a midterm election while still losing seats in the Senate, the first two being in 1814 and 1822.