Historical perspective on the election results [View all]

[Spider Jerusalem]

the last time that a party that had occupied the White House for two consecutive terms won seats in their second midterm election? 1906 (when the Republicans picked up seats in the Senate but lost them in the House). The Democratic Party lost seats in Wilson's second term, FDR's second term, under LBJ, and Clinton. The Republicans lost seats under Coolidge, Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush II (1974 omitted because Watergate and Nixon's resignation skew the picture).