The 1962 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives on November 6, 1962, to elect members to serve in the 88th United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy's term. As in most midterm elections, Kennedy's Democratic Party lost seats to the opposition Republican Party, but retained a majority. House Democrats were expected to lose their majority, but the resolution over the Cuban Missile Crisis just a few weeks prior led to a rebound in approval for the Democrats under President Kennedy.
The number of seats up for election went back to 435, in accordance with reapportionment resulting from the 1960 census. The membership had been increased temporarily to 437 in 1959, providing 1 seat each for the new states of Alaska and Hawaii, while the other 435 seats continued with the reapportionment resulting from the 1950 census.
This was the last midterm election cycle until 2022 in which a sitting Democratic president experienced net losses for his party in the House while experiencing net gains in the Senate.
Incumbent resigned December 31, 1961. New member elected February 20, 1962. Democratic hold. Winner was subsequently re-elected in November to the redistricted 8th district.
Arkansas lost two seats and merged the 5th and 6th districts into the other districts. 5th district incumbent Dale Alford chose to run for governor rather than face Wilbur Mills in a primary, and 6th district incumbent Catherine Dorris Norrell retired after serving out the remainder of her husband's term.[1]
Eight new seats were gained in reapportionment, including 4 additional districts in Greater Los Angeles alone as well as others in San Diego, the Northern Central Valley, Alameda County, and the Central Coast, increasing the delegation from 30 to 38 seats.[1] Seven of the new seats were won by Democrats, one by a Republican. Two Republican incumbents lost re-election to Democrats. Therefore, Democrats increased by 9 seats and Republicans decreased by 1.
Florida gained 4 new districts at reapportionment: the 3rd around Miami, the 9th in the Panhandle, the 10th around Tampa, and the 11th in Orlando and the nearby Atlantic coast.[1]
Illinois lost one seat at reapportionment, merging the existing 21st district into the 20th and 23rd, and the Chicago districts were realigned to give more representation to the suburbs.[1]
Iowa lost one seat at reapportionment and divided the existing 6th district in north-central Iowa among several neighboring districts with compensating boundary changes elsewhere. Incumbent Merwin Coad chose to retire rather than run against one of the other incumbents.[1]
Kansas lost one seat at reapportionment and redistricted from 6 to 5, combining the existing southwestern 5th and northwestern 6th districts into a single district, in which incumbents James Floyd Breeding and Bob Dole ran against each other, and making modest boundary changes elsewhere.[1]
Kentucky lost one seat at reapportionment. 5th district incumbent Brent Spence elected to retire, and his district was divided between several other districts with the lion's share going to the 4th.[1]
Maine lost one seat at reapportionment, redistricting from 3 seats to 2 -- a 1st district containing the coastal parts of the existing 1st and 2nd districts, and a 2nd district containing the existing 3rd district and the rest of inland Maine.[1]
Minnesota lost one seat at reapportionment, and the 7th saw the largest change, with its territory split between the existing 2nd and 6th districts.[1]
New Jersey gained one seat and formed a 15th district out of parts of the existing 3rd and 5th districts around Perth Amboy without making substantial changes elsewhere.[1]
New York lost 2 seats at reapportionment; after redistricting, Long Island actually gained two seats while Manhattan lost two and Brooklyn and Upstate New York lost one each.[1] As of 2020, this would be the last time Republicans would win the most congressional districts in New York.
Three seats were lost in reapportionment, decreasing the delegation from 30 to 27 seats, with redistricting removing one seat in Philadelphia and two in central Pennsylvania. Two of those seats were lost by Republicans (a retirement and a redistricting contest against a Democratic incumbent), and one seat was by a Democrat (a retirement).
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Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, 1789–1989. Prentice Hall College Div. ISBN0-02-920170-5.
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