# 1958 Midterm Elections Second-term [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] administration midterm. Democrats gained ~49 House seats and ~13 Senate seats — one of the largest single-cycle Democratic gains since 1932. The drivers: the **Eisenhower recession** of 1957-1958, the **Sherman Adams scandal** that summer (Eisenhower's chief of staff resigned over gift-acceptance), the post-Sputnik anxiety about American technological lag, and broader Democratic recovery. The 86th Congress that this election produced was the largest Democratic majority since the [[New Deal]] peak. ## Result - **House:** Democrats gained ~49 seats; expanded majority (~283 of 437 Democrats vs. ~153 Republicans in the 86th Congress) - **Senate:** Democrats gained ~13 seats; expanded supermajority (~64 of 98 Democrats vs. ~34 Republicans) - **Chambers flipped:** None — Democrats already controlled both - **Net change:** Massive Democratic gains; one of the largest single-cycle swings of the 20th century ## Notable - **Eisenhower Recession** of 1957-1958 — sharp economic contraction; unemployment reached 7.5% by April 1958 - **Sherman Adams scandal** — Eisenhower's chief of staff resigned September 1958 after revelations he had accepted a vicuña coat from industrialist Bernard Goldfine; political damage substantial - Alaska (January 1959) and Hawaii (August 1959) admitted to the Union shortly after this election, expanding House to 437 (briefly) before returning to 435 with the 1960 Census apportionment - Many of the **liberal Democrats** who would shape the [[Great Society]] legislation (Edmund Muskie, [[Eugene McCarthy]], Frank Church, others) were elected in 1958 - Senate Majority Leader [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] operated with a 2-to-1 Democratic supermajority ## Connections - [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] — Sitting president.