Congressional Elections
U.S. House Elections
Prior to the 2016 elections, the Republicans held 247 seats in the U.S. House, to 188 for the Democrats. After the elections, they held 241 seats, to 194 for the Democrats, a shift of just six seats to the Democrats. Republicans were able to win 55.4 percent of the House seats in 2016 with 50.6 percent of the two-party popular vote, as they benefitted from House district lines that more efficiently translated their popular votes into seats.
U.S. Senate Elections
Prior to the 2016 elections, the Democrats held 46 seats in the U.S. Senate, counting two independents who caucused with the Democrats. After the elections, they held 48 seats (again counting two independents who caucus with the Democrats), to 52 for the Republicans, a shift of 2 seats. Considering that Republicans held 24 of the 34 seats up for election, which meant that they had far more seats to defend than did the Democrats, most observers considered the small Democratic gain to be a significant victory for the GOP.
Election results for individual House and Senate races are available at: