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The Top 10 presidents With the Biggest Midterm Losses

The results are interesting

By Katy Grimes, November 10, 2026 2:00 pm

10 Nov 2026 2:00 pm

With the dramatic losses in last week’s election, I wondered who the top 10 presidents with the biggest midterm losses are.

The results are interesting.

According to PresidentsUSA.net, this a list of the presidents whose party lost the most seats in the US House of Representatives in a mid-term election, where the president was not on the ballot:

Grover Cleveland (1894), Ulysses S. Grant (1874), and Benjamin Harrison (1890) top the all-time list of the largest House midterm losses by a president’s party, with Cleveland’s Democrats losing 125 seats.

 The list draws from House historical data compiled by presidentsusa.net, covering midterms since the modern two-party era around 1858. They note that the results from the 2026 mid-terms are still being finalized and are not included yet. We will update the article when the results are final.

Top 10 by House Seats Lost

  1. Grover Cleveland (D, 1894): −125. The largest numerical swing in House history, driven by the Panic of 1893 and economic distress. Democrats went from a large majority to a small minority (The House then had 357 seats).
  2. Ulysses S. Grant (R, 1874): −96. Tied to post-Civil War issues, Reconstruction fatigue, and the Panic of 1873.
  3. Benjamin Harrison (R, 1890): −93. Related to economic issues and the McKinley Tariff.
  4. Warren G. Harding (R, 1922): −77. Followed the postwar recession and scandals.
  5. Franklin D. Roosevelt (D, 1938): −72. After the New Deal peak; recession and conservative backlash.
  6. Barack Obama (D, 2010): −64. The modern-era record “shellacking” when Republicans took the House. 
  7. Woodrow Wilson (D, 1914): −61. Midway through his first term.
  8. William Howard Taft (R, 1910): −57. Progressive splits and economic issues.
  9. Harry S. Truman (D, 1946): −56. Post-WWII issues and labor unrest; Republicans took both chambers.
  10. Bill Clinton (D, 1994): −54. The “Republican Revolution” when the GOP took the House for the first time in 40 years.

Modern Era – Since 1946

In the postwar period, the biggest losses are:

  1. Obama 2010 (−63),
  2. Truman 1946 (−56),
  3. Clinton 1994 (−54),
  4. Eisenhower 1958 (−48),
  5. Ford 1974 (−48), and
  6. LBJ 1966 (−47).

The president’s party has lost House seats in the large majority of midterms – e.g., 18 of 20 from 1946–2022 – with an average loss around 26 seats. Gains occurred only under Clinton (1998, +4) and George W. Bush (2002, +8).

Senate losses:

The largest modern examples: Eisenhower 1958 (-12), and Truman 1946 (-13). 

Here is the complete list from PresidentsUSA.net:

RANK PRESIDENT PARTY MID-TERM ELECTION YEAR HOUSE SEATS LOST BY PRESIDENT’S PARTY
1. Grover Cleveland Democratic 1894 125
2. Ulysses S. Grant Republican 1874 96
3. Benjamin Harrison Republican 1890 93
4. Warren Harding Republican 1922 77
5. Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 1938 72
6. Barack Obama Democratic 2010 64
7. Woodrow Wilson Democratic 1914 61
8. William Howard Taft Republican 1910 57
9. Harry Truman Democratic 1946 56
10. Bill Clinton Democratic 1994 54
11. Herbert Hoover Republican 1930 52
12. Dwight Eisenhower Republican 1958 50
13. James Buchanan Democratic 1858 49
14. Gerald Ford Republican 1974 48
15. Lyndon Johnson Democratic 1966 47
16. Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 1942 45
17. Donald Trump Republican 2018 42
18. Ulysses S. Grant Republican 1870 35
19. Chester Arthur Republican 1882 34
20. George W. Bush Republican 2006 30

This is a list of the presidents whose party lost the most seats in the US Senate in a mid-term election (where the president was not on the ballot). The results from the 2026 mid-terms are still being finalized and are not included below.

RANK PRESIDENT PARTY MID-TERM ELECTION YEAR SENATE SEATS LOST BY PRESIDENT’S PARTY
1. Harry Truman Democratic 1946 12
1. Dwight Eisenhower Republican 1958 12
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 1942 9
3. Bill Clinton Democratic 1994 9
3. Barack Obama Democratic 2014 9
6. Herbert Hoover Republican 1930 8
6. Ronald Reagan Republican 1986 8
6. William Howard Taft Republican 1910 8
9. Woodrow Wilson Democratic 1918 7
9. Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 1938 7
9. Rutherford B. Hayes Republican 1878 7
12. Barack Obama Democratic 2010 6
12. Ulysses S. Grant Republican 1870 6
12. Warren Harding Republican 1922 6
12. Calvin Coolidge Republican 1926 6
12. George W. Bush Republican 2006 6
17. Harry Truman Democratic 1950 5
17. Gerald Ford Republican 1974 5
19. Benjamin Harrison Republican 1890 4
19. Lyndon Johnson Democratic 1966 4
19. Grover Cleveland Democratic 1894 4

According to the Cook Political Report, as of the latest available counts on November 10, 2026:

  • Democrats have won roughly 254–256 seats.
  • Republicans have won roughly 163–166 seats.
  • A number of races remain uncalled (as many as the mid-20s).

Ballotpedia reports: 44 seats changed to Democrats and 2 to Republicans (46 total party switches), with Democrats at 252 and Republicans at 158 among called races.

Sources include official House/Senate party-division data via The American Presidency Project, Wikipedia, Ballotpedia, Grok research. 

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One thought on “The Top 10 presidents With the Biggest Midterm Losses”

  1. Trump is obviously an underachiever. Skunked out of the biggest loser column by Barry and Bill.

    Methinks, most voters were just saying slow down a bit President Trump – we need gridlock, definitely not any more Democrats. We want to catch our breath, until we are ready to come back again with a newMAGA roar in 2028.
    The movement continues because it is the right thing to do.

    Reply

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