The election took place in the middle of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first term, during the Great Depression.

This marked the first time that an incumbent president's party did not lose seats in both houses in a midterm election, followed by 1998 and 2002.

The feat of the president's party seeing net gains in both the United States Senate and the governorships would not be observed again until 2022.

[2] This was also the last midterm until 2022 in which the president's party did not lose any state legislative chambers or incumbent senators.

Despite opposition from Republicans, business organizations such as the United States Chamber of Commerce, and disaffected Democrats who formed the American Liberty League, Roosevelt's New Deal policies were bolstered and his New Deal coalition was solidified.