1998 United States House of Representatives elections
District Incumbent Party First elected Results Candidates
Texas 1 Max Sandlin Democratic 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Max Sandlin ( Democratic ) 59.4% Dennis Boerner ( Republican ) 40.6%
Texas 2 Jim Turner Democratic 1996 Incumbent re-elected Jim Turner ( Democratic ) 58.4% Brian Babin ( Republican ) 40.8% Wendell Drye ( Libertarian ) 0.8%
Texas 3 Sam Johnson Republican 1991 Incumbent re-elected Y Sam Johnson ( Republican ) 91.2% Ken Ashby ( Libertarian ) 8.8%
Texas 4 Ralph Hall Democratic 1980 Incumbent re-elected Y Ralph Hall ( Democratic ) 57.6% Jim Lohmeyer ( Republican ) 40.9% Jim Simon ( Libertarian ) 1.5%
Texas 5 Pete Sessions Republican 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Pete Sessions ( Republican ) 55.8% Victor Morales ( Democratic ) 43.4% Michael Needleman ( Libertarian ) 0.8%
Texas 6 Joe Barton Republican 1984 Incumbent re-elected Y Joe Barton ( Republican ) 72.9% Ben Boothe ( Democratic ) 25.9% Richard A. Bandlow ( Libertarian ) 1.2%
Texas 7 Bill Archer Republican 1970 Incumbent re-elected Y Bill Archer ( Republican ) 93.3% Drew Parks ( Libertarian ) 6.6%
Texas 8 Kevin Brady Republican 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Kevin Brady ( Republican ) 92.8% Don Richards ( Libertarian ) 7.2%
Texas 9 Nick Lampson Democratic 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Nick Lampson ( Democratic ) 63.7% Tom Cottar ( Republican ) 36.3%
Texas 10 Lloyd Doggett Democratic 1994 Incumbent re-elected Y Lloyd Doggett ( Democratic ) 85.2% Vincent J . May ( Libertarian ) 14.8%
Texas 11 Chet Edwards Democratic 1990 Incumbent re-elected Y Chet Edwards ( Democratic ) 82.4% Vince Hanke ( Libertarian ) 17.6%
Texas 12 Kay Granger Republican 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Kay Granger ( Republican ) 61.9% Tom Hall ( Democratic ) 36.3% Paul Barthel ( Libertarian ) 1.8%
Texas 13 Mac Thornberry Republican 1994 Incumbent re-elected Y Mac Thornberry ( Republican ) 67.9% Mark Harmon ( Democratic ) 31% Georganne Baker Payne ( Libertarian ) 1.1%
Texas 14 Ron Paul Republican 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Ron Paul ( Republican ) 55.3% Loy Sneary ( Democratic ) 44.5%
Texas 15 Rubén Hinojosa Democratic 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Rubén Hinojosa ( Democratic ) 58.4% Tom Haughey ( Republican ) 41.6%
Texas 16 Silvestre Reyes Democratic 1996 Incumbent re-elected Y Silvestre Reyes ( Democratic ) 87.9% Stu Nance ( Libertarian ) 6.9% Lorenzo Morales ( Independent ) 5.1%
Texas 17 Charles Stenholm Democratic 1978 Incumbent re-elected Y Charles Stenholm ( Democratic ) 53.6% Rudy Izzard ( Republican ) 45.3% Gordon Mobley ( Libertarian ) 1.1%
Texas 18 Sheila Jackson Lee Democratic 1994 Incumbent re-elected Y Sheila Jackson Lee ( Democratic ) 89.9% James Galvan ( Libertarian ) 10.1%
Texas 19 Larry Combest Republican 1984 Incumbent re-elected Y Larry Combest ( Republican ) 83.6% Sidney Blankenship ( Democratic ) 16.4%
Texas 20 Henry B. González Democratic 1961 Incumbent retired . New member elected . Democratic hold Y Charlie Gonzalez ( Democratic ) 63.2% James Walker ( Republican ) 35.6% Alejandro ( Alex ) DePeña ( Libertarian ) 1.3%
Texas
Main article : 1998 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas See also : List of United States Representatives from Texas
The 1998 United States House of Representatives elections were part of the midterm elections held during President Bill Clinton's second term. They were a major disappointment to the Republicans, who were expecting to gain seats due to the embarrassment Clinton suffered during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and the six-year itch effect observed in most second-term midterm elections. However, the Republicans lost five seats to the Democrats, but retained a narrow majority in the House. A wave of Republican discontent with Speaker Newt Gingrich prompted him to resign shortly after the election; he was replaced by Congressman Dennis Hastert of Illinois. The campaign was marked by Republican attacks on the morality of President Bill Clinton, with Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr having released his report on the Lewinsky scandal and House leaders having initiated an inquiry into whether impeachable offenses had occurred. However, exit polls indicated that most voters opposed impeaching Clinton, and predictions of high Republican or low Democratic turnout due to the scandal failed to materialize. Some speculate that the losses reflected a backlash against the Republicans for attacking the popular President Clinton. With the Republicans having lost 4 House seats and failing to gain any seats in the Senate, it was the first time since 1934 that the non-presidential party failed to gain congressional seats in a mid-term election. It was also the first time since 1822 that the non-presidential party had failed to gain seats in the mid-term election of a President's second term. Seats picked up by the Democrats included Kansas's 3rd district, Nevada's 1st district, Pennsylvania's 13th district, New Mexico's 3rd district, New Jersey's 12th district, Kentucky's 4th district, Mississippi's 4th district, California's 1st district, Wisconsin's 2nd district, Washington's 1st district, and Washington's 3rd district. The Republicans, however, picked up seats in Kentucky's 6th district, Wisconsin's 8th district, California's 3rd district, California's 36th district, Pennsylvania's 15th district, and North Carolina's 8th district.