who gained control of congress in the midterm elections in 1946
United States House of Representatives elections, 1946 Truman was Vice President under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was thrust into the presidency following Roosevelt's death. Truman did not garner the same support as the deceased president. Democrats had controlled Congress since 1931, for 16 years, and Roosevelt had been elected to a record four terms in office. The 1946 election resulted in Republicans picking up 55 seats to win majority control. Joseph William Martin, Jr., Republican of Massachusetts, became Speaker of the House, exchanging places with Sam Rayburn, Democrat of Texas, who became the new Minority Leader. The Democratic defeat was the largest since they were trounced in the 1928 pro-Republican wave that brought Herbert Hoover to power.
United States Senate elections, 2008 Going into these elections, the Senate consisted of 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and two Independents who caucused with the Democrats, giving the Democratic caucus the slightest 51-49 majority.[1] Of the seats up for election in 2008, 23 were held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats. The Republicans, who openly conceded early on that they wouldn't be able to regain the majority in 2008,[2][3] lost eight seats. This election was the second cycle in a row in which no seats switched from Democratic to Republican. In addition, this was the largest Democratic Senate gain since 1986, when they also won eight seats. These elections marked the first time since 1964 in which a Democratic presidential candidate won the White House with Senate coattails. Finally, 2008 was the first presidential election year since 1948 in which Senate Class 2 saw net gains for the winning presidential candidate's party.