The 1994 U.S. House of Representatives election was held on November 8, 1994, in the middle of President Bill Clinton's first term. As a result of a 54-seat swing in membership from Democrats to Republicans, the Republican Party gained a majority of seats in the United States House of Representatives for the first time since 1954. The Democratic Party had run the House for all but four of the preceding 62 years. The Republican Party, united behind Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, which promised floor votes on various popular and institutional reforms, was able to capitalize on the... perception that the House leadership was corrupt, as well as the dissatisfaction of conservative and many independent voters with President Clinton's actions . In a historic election, House Speaker Tom Foley was defeated for re-election in his district, becoming the first Speaker of the House to fail to win re-election since the era of the American Civil War.
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