Republican Revolution

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The term can also refer to the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that led to the establishment of the Republic of China.

The Republican Revolution refers to the triumph of United States Republican Party in the 1994 US midterm elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of Representatives, and a pickup of eight seats in the Senate. Republicans successfully defended all thirteen Republican-held Senate seats up for election; but even more significant was the fact that the Republicans had not held the majority in the House for forty years, since the 83rd Congress (elected in 1952).

In addition, Republicans picked up a net gain of twelve governor's seats in states around the country.

Although this is subject to debate, the election results have been widely attributed to a sense on the part of the American people that the previous two years of undivided government had shifted the country too far leftward. Indeed, even Democratic President Bill Clinton would eventually concede in his January 1996 State of the Union Address, "The era of big government is over." Nonetheless, later that same year, Republicans would fail to unseat President Clinton in the national election, suggesting to some at the time that Americans were simply wary of entrusting a single party with the reins of power.

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Freshmen of 1994

Many current leaders in the Republican Party and otherwise notable names were first elected to national office as part of the Republican Revolution.

  • John Shadegg - Now chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, Shadegg was first elected to the house in 1994 to represent Arizona's fourth district, replacing Republican Jon Kyl, who was elected to the Senate in 1994 to replace retiring Democrat Dennis DeConcini. Shadegg is the only member of the 1994 freshman class currently in the House Republican leadership.
  • Saxby Chambliss - Now the senior Senator from Georgia, Chambliss was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Georgia's eighth district, replacing retiring Democrat J. Roy Rowland.
  • Sam Brownback - Now the senior Senator from Kansas, Brownback was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Kansas' second district, replacing Democrat Jim Slattery, who was running for Governor.
  • John Ensign - Now the junior Senator from Nevada, Ensign was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Nevada's first district, defeating three-term incumbent Democrat James Bilbray.
  • George Pataki - Pataki was elected Governor of New York in 1994, defeating three-term incumbent Mario Cuomo. He is the longest-serving Governor in the United States.
  • Tom Coburn - Now the junior Senator from Oklahoma, Coburn was first elected to the House in 1994 to represent Oklahoma's second district, replacing Democrat Mike Synar (who was defeated in the Democratic primary). Coburn's Senate companion, James Inhofe, was first elected to the Senate in 1994, replacing resigned Democrat David L. Boren.
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Ramifications

After being sworn in, House Republicans voted former Minority Whip Newt Gingrich – the chief architect of their historic victory and author of the Contract with America – Speaker of the House, while the new senatorial Republican majority chose Bob Dole, previously Minority Leader, as Majority Leader. With their newfound power, Republicans pursued an ambitious agenda in accordance with their conservative beliefs, but were often forced to compromise with President Clinton, who wielded veto power.

In the House of Representatives the Republican takeover was accompanied by significant structural changes in House rules. The relative power of once-powerful committee and subcommittee chairs was weakened, centralizing power within the Republican House delegation under the party leadership. For example, a six-year term limit was imposed on committee chairmanships, and a "subcommittee bill of rights" passed in the 1970s was repealed. Speaker Gingrich also bypassed the seniority system in appointing conservative loyalties to lead key committees such as Appropriations, Judiciary, and Commerce. In the Senate, changes were less substantial.

The 1994 election also marked the final end of the Conservative Coalition, a bipartisan coalition of conservative Republicans and Democrats (often referred to as "boll weevil Democrats" for their association with the U.S. South), which had often managed to control Congressional outcomes since the New Deal era.

In the 1996 and 1998 elections, Republicans retained control of the House and (more narrowly) the Senate. After the 2000 election, the Senate was divided evenly between the parties, with Republicans retaining the right to organize the Senate due to the election of Dick Cheney as Vice President and ex officio presiding officer of the Senate. The Senate briefly shifted to control of the Democrats in 2001-2002 after the defection of GOP senator Jim Jeffords, but returned to Republican control after the 2002 elections. The House, Senate, and Presidency continue to be controlled by the Republican Party going in to the 2006 Congressional elections.

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