2014 United States elections

2014 United States elections

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Election day	November 4
Incumbent president	Barack Obama (Democratic)
Next Congress	114th
Senate elections
Overall control	Republican gain
Seats contested	36 of 100 seats (33 seats of Class II + 3 special elections)
Net seat change	Republican +9
Map of the 2014 Senate races      Democratic hold      Republican hold      Republican gain A box in a state indicates that both Senate seats were up for election.
House elections
Overall control	Republican hold
Seats contested	All 435 seats to the 114th Congress
Popular vote margin	Republican +5.7%
Net seat change	Republican +13
Map of the 2014 House races      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested	39 (36 states, 3 territories)
Net seat change	Republican +2
Map of the 2014 gubernatorial races      Democratic hold      Republican hold      Democratic gain      Republican gain      Independent gain

The 2014 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, in the middle of Democratic President Barack Obama's second term. A typical six-year itch midterm election suffered by most second-term presidents, this election saw the Republican Party retaining control of the House of Representatives and winning control of the Senate, while furthering their gains in the governorships and state legislatures. Because of these Republican gains, the election was commonly cited as a "red wave" election.^[1]

Republicans won a net gain of nine Senate seats, the largest Senate gain for either party since the 1980 United States elections. In the House, Republicans won a net gain of thirteen seats, giving them their largest majority since the 1928 elections. In state elections, Republicans won a net gain of two gubernatorial seats and flipped control of ten legislative chambers. Various other state, territorial, and local elections and referendums were held throughout the year.

With total spending reaching $3.7 billion, the midterm election, at the time, was the most expensive in history, being surpassed by the 2018 midterm election four years later. The 2014 election also saw the lowest turnout since 1942, with just 36.4% of eligible voters voting. Coupled with the 2010 midterms earlier in the Obama administration, this election marked the first time since the Reagan Administration that a two-term president's party suffered net losses in both houses of Congress in both midterm elections.