The 1982 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives held on November 2, 1982, to elect members to serve in the 98th United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of President Ronald Reagan's first term, whose popularity was sinking due to economic conditions under the 1982 recession. The President's Republican Party lost seats in the House, which could be viewed as a response to the President's approval at the time. Unlike most midterm election cycles, the number of seats lost—26 seats to the Democratic Party—was a comparatively large swap. It included most of the seats that had been gained the previous election, cementing the Democratic majority. Coincidentally, the number of seats the Democrats picked up (26), was the exact amount the Republicans would have needed to win the House majority. It was the first election held after the 1980 United States redistricting cycle.

In the previous election of 1980 Republicans gained many seats as the result of President Ronald Reagan's coattails. In 1982, 14 freshman representatives who ran for re-election lost their seats.

To date, this election marks the last time the Democrats picked up a House seat in West Virginia. It was also the last time the party holding the White House won independent voters in a congressional midterm election until 2022.

Overall results

393 incumbent members sought reelection, but 10 were defeated in primaries and 29 defeated in the general election for a total of 354 incumbents winning.

{| style="width:60%; text-align:center"

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|- style="color:white"

| style="background:; width:61.84%" | 269

| style="background:; width:0.23%" | 1

| style="background:; width:37.93%" | 165

|-

| <span style="color:">Democratic</span>

| <span style="color:">C</span>

| <span style="color:">Republican</span>

|}

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

! rowspan= 2 colspan=2| Parties

! colspan=4 | Seats

! colspan=3 | Popular vote

|-

! 1980

! 1982

! +/-

! Strength

! Vote

! %

! Change

|-

|

| align=left | Democratic Party

| 243

| 269

| 26

| 61.8%

| 35,284,473

| 55.2%

| 4.7%

|-

|

| align=left | Republican Party

| 191

| 165

| 26

| 38.0%

| 27,625,593

| 43.4%

| 4.4%

|-

|

| align=left | Libertarian Party

| 0

| 0

|

| 0.0%

| 462,767

| 0.7%

|

|-

|

| align=left | Conservative Party

| 1

| 1

|

| 0.2%

| 140,404

| 0.2%

| 0.1%

|-

|

| align=left | Independent

| 0

| 0

|

| 0.0%

| 120,476

| 0.2%

| 0.1%

|-

|

| align=left | Right to Life Party

| 0

| 0

|

| 0.0%

| 45,819

| 0.1%

|

|-

|

| align=left | Milton Street Party

| 0

| 0

|

| 0.0%

| 35,205

| 0.1%

| 0.1%

|-

|

| align=left | Peace and Freedom Party

| 0

| 0

|

| 0.0%

| 34,422

| 0.1%

|

|-

|

|align=left|Others

| 0

| 0

|

| 0.0%

| 131,685

| 0.2%

|

|-

! colspan="2" width=100|Total

! 435

! 435

! 0

! 100.0%

! 63,880,844

! 100.0%

!

|- bgcolor=E9E9E9

|align="left" colspan=9|Source: Election Statistics – Office of the Clerk

|}

{|

|- valign=top

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[[File:98 us house membership.png|thumb|400px|

{| width=100%

! colspan=2 align=center | House seats by party holding plurality in state

|-

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[[File:98 us house changes.png|thumb|400px|

{| width=100%

! colspan=2 align=center | Change in seats

|-

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| colspan=2 align=center |

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Retiring incumbents

40 representatives retired. 32 of those seats were held by the same party; 8 seats changed parties.

Democrats

19 Democrats retired. 12 of those seats were held by Democrats, 4 were won by Republicans, and 3 seats were eliminated in redistricting.

Democratic held

  1. : John L. Burton, was succeeded by Barbara Boxer (with district being renumbered as California 6).
  2. : Ronald 'Bo' Ginn, to run for Governor of Georgia, was succeeded by Lindsay Thomas.
  3. : Jack Brinkley, was succeeded by Richard Ray.
  4. : William M. Brodhead, was succeeded by Sander Levin.
  5. : Richard Bolling, was succeeded by Alan Wheat.
  6. : Shirley Chisholm, was succeeded by Major Owens.
  7. : Lawrence H. Fountain, was succeeded by Tim Valentine.
  8. : Kenneth Lamar Holland, was succeeded by John Spratt.
  9. : Jim Mattox, to run for Attorney General of Texas, was succeeded by John Wiley Bryant.
  10. : Richard C. White, was succeeded by Ronald D. Coleman.
  11. : Bob Mollohan, was succeeded by Alan Mollohan.
  12. : Henry Reuss, was succeeded by Jim Moody.

Republican gain

  1. : Toby Moffett, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Nancy Johnson.
  2. : David R. Bowen, was succeeded by Webb Franklin.
  3. : James David Santini, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Barbara Vucanovich (with district being renumbered as Nevada 2).
  4. : Allen E. Ertel, to run for Governor of Pennsylvania, was succeeded by George Gekas.

Seat eliminated in redistricting

  1. : Floyd Fithian who ran for U.S. senator.
  2. : James J. Blanchard who ran for Governor of Michigan.
  3. : Jonathan Brewster Bingham.

Republicans

21 Republicans retired. 11 of those seats were held by Republicans, 4 were won by Democrats, and 6 seats were eliminated in redistricting.

Republican held

  1. : John Jacob Rhodes, was succeeded by John McCain.
  2. : Pete McCloskey, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Ed Zschau.
  3. : Clair Burgener, was succeeded by Ron Packard.
  4. : Louis A. Bafalis, to run for Governor of Florida, was succeeded by Tom Lewis (with district being renumbered as Florida 12).
  5. : David F. Emery, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by John R. McKernan Jr.
  6. : Donald J. Mitchell, was succeeded by Sherwood Boehlert (with district being renumbered as New York 25).
  7. : Bud Brown, to run for Governor of Ohio, was succeeded by Mike DeWine.
  8. : Marc L. Marks, was succeeded by Tom Ridge (with district being renumbered as Pennsylvania 21).
  9. : Robin Beard, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Don Sundquist (with district being renumbered as Tennessee 7).
  10. : James M. Collins, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Steve Bartlett.
  11. : Paul S. Trible Jr., to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Herbert H. Bateman.

Democratic gain

  1. : Bob Dornan, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Mel Levine.
  2. : James Edmund Jeffries, was succeeded by Jim Slattery.
  3. : Cleve Benedict, to run for U.S. senator, was succeeded by Harley O. Staggers Jr.
  4. : M. Caldwell Butler, was succeeded by Jim Olin.

Seat eliminated in redistricting

  1. : Barry Goldwater Jr., who ran for U.S. senator.
  2. : Robert McClory.
  3. : Millicent Fenwick, who ran for U.S. senator.
  4. : Gregory W. Carman.
  5. : J. William Stanton.
  6. : Jean Spencer Ashbrook.

Defeated incumbents

As a result of redistricting, many incumbents were forced to compete against each other in the same district, which resulted in a larger number of incumbents being defeated in primaries.

In primary elections

10 representatives lost renomination: 6 lost in redistricting battles pitting incumbents against each other, and 4 lost nomination to non-incumbent challengers.

Democrats

6 Democrats lost renomination: 3 in redistricting races and 3 to a non-incumbent challenger. All the seats were held by Democrats.

  1. : Billy Lee Evans lost to challenger J. Roy Rowland.
  2. : John G. Fary lost to challenger Bill Lipinski.
  3. : David W. Evans lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Andrew Jacobs Jr.
  4. : Ronald M. Mottl lost to challenger Ed Feighan.
  5. : Joseph F. Smith lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent Thomas M. Foglietta.
  6. : Donald A. Bailey lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent John Murtha.

Republicans

4 Republicans lost renomination: 3 in redistricting races and 1 to a non-incumbent challenger.

Seat held by a Republican

These primary winners later won the general election.

  1. : Wayne R. Grisham lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent David Dreier.
  2. : Ed Derwinski lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent George M. O'Brien.
  3. : Gary A. Lee lost a redistricting race to fellow incumbent George C. Wortley.
Seat lost to a Democrat
  1. : Tom Railsback lost to challenger Kenneth G. McMillan, who later lost the general election to Lane Evans.

In the general election

Democrats

Three incumbent Democrats lost re-election; two lost to Republican incumbents and one to a non-incumbent challenger.

Seat lost to a Republican incumbent
  1. : Leo C. Zeferetti lost a redistricting race to Guy V. Molinari.
  2. : Peter A. Peyser lost a redistricting race to Benjamin A. Gilman.
Seat lost to a Republican challenger
  1. : Bob Shamansky lost to John Kasich.

Republicans

Twenty-six incumbent Republicans lost re-election; five lost to Democratic incumbents while twenty-one lost to non-incumbent challengers, ten of whom were first elected in 1980.

Seat lost to a Democratic incumbent
  1. : John H. Rousselot lost a redistricting race to Matthew G. Martinez.
  2. : Margaret Heckler lost a redistricting race to Barney Frank.
  3. : Wendell Bailey lost a redistricting race to Ike Skelton.
  4. : John LeBoutillier lost a redistricting race to Robert J. Mrazek.
  5. : Clint Roberts lost a redistricting race to Tom Daschle.
Seat lost to a Democratic challenger
  1. : Albert L. Smith Jr. lost to Ben Erdreich.
  2. : Donald H. Clausen lost to Douglas H. Bosco.
  3. : Lawrence J. DeNardis lost to Bruce A. Morrison.
  4. : Tom Evans lost to Thomas R. Carper.
  5. : Paul Findley lost to Dick Durbin.
  6. : H. Joel Deckard lost to Frank McCloskey.
  7. : James Whitney Dunn lost to Milton Robert Carr.
  8. : Tom Hagedorn lost to Tim Penny.
  9. : Arlen Erdahl lost to Gerry Sikorski.
  10. : Harold C. Hollenbeck lost to Robert Torricelli.
  11. : Walter E. Johnston, III lost to Charles Robin Britt.
  12. : Bill Hendon lost to James M. Clarke.
  13. : Ed Weber lost to Marcy Kaptur.
  14. : Charles F. Dougherty lost to Robert A. Borski, Jr.
  15. : Eugene Atkinson lost to Joseph P. Kolter.
  16. : James K. Coyne, III lost to Peter H. Kostmayer.
  17. : James L. Nelligan lost to Frank Harrison.
  18. : John Light Napier lost to Robin Tallon.
  19. : Robert Daniel lost to Norman Sisisky.
  20. : William C. Wampler lost to Rick Boucher.
  21. : Mick Staton lost to Bob Wise.

Special elections

|-

!

| William Cotter

| | Democratic

| 1970

| | Incumbent died September 8, 1981.<br/>New member <!--elected-->elected January 11, 1982.<br/>Democratic hold.<br/>Winner was subsequently re-elected in November.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| John M. Ashbrook

| | Republican

| 1960

| | Incumbent died April 24, 1982.<br/>New member <!--elected-->elected June 19, 1982.<br/>Republican hold.<br/>Winner did not seek re-election in November.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| George Danielson

| | Democratic

| 1970

| | Incumbent resigned March 9, 1982 to become Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeals.<br/>New member <!--[[1982 California's 30th congressional district special election|elected]-->elected July 13, 1982.<br/>Democratic hold.<br/>Winner was subsequently re-elected in November.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Adam Benjamin Jr.

| | Democratic

| 1976

| | Incumbent died September 7, 1982.<br/>New member <!--[[1982 Indiana's 1st congressional district special election|elected]-->elected November 2, 1982.<br/>Democratic hold.<br/>Successor was also elected the same day to the next term; see below.

| nowrap |

|}

Alabama

<!---->

|-

!

| Jack Edwards

| | Republican

| 1964

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| William Louis Dickinson

| | Republican

| 1964

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| William Flynt Nichols

| | Democratic

| 1966

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Tom Bevill

| | Democratic

| 1966

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Ronnie Flippo

| | Democratic

| 1976

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Albert L. Smith Jr.

| | Republican

| 1980

| | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Richard Shelby

| | Democratic

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|}

Alaska

|-

!

| Don Young

| | Republican

| 1973

| Incumbent re-elected.

|

|}

Arizona

<!---->

Arizona received an additional seat at reapportionment and added a in the southeast of the state.

|-

!

| John Jacob Rhodes

| | Republican

| 1952

| | Incumbent retired.<br/>Republican hold.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Mo Udall

| | Democratic

| 1961

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bob Stump

| | Democratic

| 1976

| | Incumbent re-elected as a Republican.<br/>Republican gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Eldon Rudd

| | Republican

| 1976

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| colspan=3 | None (district created)

| | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|}

Arkansas

<!---->

|-

!

| Bill Alexander

| | Democratic

| 1968

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Ed Bethune

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| John Paul Hammerschmidt

| | Republican

| 1966

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Beryl Anthony Jr.

| | Democratic

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|}

California

The delegation increased from 43 to 45 seats. To create the two-seat net gain, five seats with no incumbent were added.

|-

!

| Donald H. Clausen<br/>

| | Republican

| 1963

| | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Eugene A. Chappie<br/>

| | Republican

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bob Matsui

| | Democratic

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Vic Fazio

| | Democratic

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Phillip Burton<br/>

| | Democratic

| 1964

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| John L. Burton<br/>

| | Democratic

| 1974

| | Incumbent retired.<br/>Democratic hold.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| George Miller

| | Democratic

| 1974

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Ron Dellums

| | Democratic

| 1970

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Pete Stark

| | Democratic

| 1972

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Don Edwards

| | Democratic

| 1962

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Tom Lantos

| | Democratic

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Pete McCloskey

| | Republican

| 1967

| | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. senator.<br/>Republican hold.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Norman Mineta

| | Democratic

| 1974

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Norman D. Shumway

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Tony Coelho

| | Democratic

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Leon Panetta

| | Democratic

| 1976

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Chip Pashayan

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| colspan=3 | None (district created)

| | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bob Lagomarsino

| | Republican

| 1974

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bill Thomas<br/>

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

! rowspan=2 |

| Bobbi Fiedler

| | Republican

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

| rowspan=2 nowrap |

|-

| Barry Goldwater Jr.<br/>

| | Republican

| 1969

| | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. senator.<br/>Republican loss.

|-

!

| Carlos Moorhead

| | Republican

| 1972

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Anthony Beilenson

| | Democratic

| 1976

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Henry Waxman

| | Democratic

| 1974

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Edward R. Roybal

| | Democratic

| 1962

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| colspan=3 | None (district created)

| | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bob Dornan

| | Republican

| 1976

| | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. senator.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Julian Dixon

| | Democratic

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Augustus Hawkins

| | Democratic

| 1962

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

! rowspan=2 |

| Matthew G. Martínez

| | Democratic

| 1982

| Incumbent re-elected.

| rowspan=2 nowrap |

|-

| John H. Rousselot<br/>

| | Republican

| 1960<br/>1962 <br/>1970

| | Incumbent lost re-election.<br/>Republican loss.

|-

!

| Mervyn Dymally

| | Democratic

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Glenn M. Anderson

| | Democratic

| 1968

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

! rowspan=2 |

| Wayne R. Grisham

| | Republican

| 1978

| | Incumbent lost renomination.<br/>Republican loss.

| rowspan=2 nowrap |

|-

| David Dreier<br/>

| | Republican

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

|-

!

| colspan=3 | None (district created)

| | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Jerry Lewis<br/>

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| George Brown Jr.

| | Democratic

| 1962<br/>1970 <br/>1972

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| colspan=3 | None (district created)

| | New seat.<br/>Republican gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Jerry M. Patterson

| | Democratic

| 1974

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bill Dannemeyer

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Robert Badham

| | Republican

| 1976

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Bill Lowery

| | Republican

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Dan Lungren<br/>

| | Republican

| 1978

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Clair Burgener

| | Republican

| 1972

| | Incumbent retired.<br/>Republican hold.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| colspan=3 | None (district created)

| | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain.

| nowrap |

|-

!

| Duncan L. Hunter<br/>

| | Republican

| 1980

| Incumbent re-elected.

| nowrap |

|}

Colorado

<!---->

Colorado added a sixth seat in reapportionment, adding the new district near Denver.