1894 United States House of Representatives elections
Elections to the United States House of Representatives in 1894 comprised a significant realigning election — a major Republican landslide that set the stage for the decisive election of 1896. The elections of members of the United States House of Representatives in 1894 came in the middle of President Grover Cleveland's second term. The nation was in its deepest economic depression ever following the Panic of 1893, so economic issues were at the forefront. In the spring, a major coal strike damaged the economy of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. It was accompanied by violence; the miners lost and many moved toward the Populist party. Immediately after the coal strike concluded, Eugene V. Debs led a nationwide railroad strike, called the Pullman Strike. It shut down the nation's transportation system west of Detroit for weeks, until President Cleveland's use of federal troops ended the strike. Debs went to prison. Illinois's Governor John Peter Altgeld, a Democrat, broke bitterly with Cleveland.
The fragmented and disoriented Democratic Party was crushed everywhere outside the South, losing more than half its seats to the Republican Party. Even in the South, the Democrats lost seats to Republican-Populist electoral fusion in Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The Democrats ultimately lost 127 seats in the election while the Republicans gained 130 seats. This is the largest swing in the history of the House of Representatives, and also makes the 1894 election the single largest midterm election victory in the entire history of the United States.
The main issues revolved around the severe economic depression, which the Republicans blamed on the conservative Bourbon Democrats led by Cleveland. Cleveland supporters lost heavily, weakening their hold on the party and setting the stage for an 1896 takeover by the silverist wing of the party. The Populist Party ran candidates in the South and Midwest, but generally lost ground, outside Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas where state-level fusion with the Republicans was successful despite Populist and Republican antagonism at the national level. The Democrats tried to raise a religious issue, claiming the GOP was in cahoots with the American Protective Association. The allegations seem to have fallen flat as Catholics moved toward the GOP.
Special elections
Sorted first by election date, then by state and district.Election summaries
Early election dates
In 1894, three states, with 8 seats among them, held elections early:- June 4 Oregon
- September 4 Vermont
- September 10 Maine
Alabama
Arkansas
California
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Thomas J. Geary | Democratic | 1890 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| Anthony Caminetti | Democratic | 1890 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| Warren B. English | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| James G. Maguire | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Eugene F. Loud | Republican | 1890 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Marion Cannon | Populist | 1892 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| William W. Bowers | Republican | 1890 | Incumbent re-elected. |
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Stephen R. Mallory | Democratic | 1890 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold. | ||
| Charles Merian Cooper | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. |
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
| District | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Bellamy Storer | Republican | 1890 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. | ||
| Jacob H. Bromwell | Republican | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Paul J. Sorg | Democratic | 1894 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Fernando C. Layton | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Dennis D. Donovan | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| George W. Hulick | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| George W. Wilson | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Luther M. Strong | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Byron F. Ritchie | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| Hezekiah S. Bundy | Republican | 1893 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. | ||
| Charles H. Grosvenor | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Joseph H. Outhwaite | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| Darius D. Hare | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| Michael D. Harter | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| H. Clay Van Voorhis | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| Albert J. Pearson | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| James A. D. Richards | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| George P. Ikirt | Democratic | 1892 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain. | ||
| Stephen A. Northway | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent re-elected. | ||
| William J. White | Republican | 1892 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. | ||
| Tom L. Johnson | Democratic | 1890 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. |