Tip O'Neill Democratic Tip O'Neill Democratic The 1978 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives on November 7, 1978, to elect members to serve in the 96th United States Congress.

They occurred in the middle of Democratic President Jimmy Carter's term, amidst an energy crisis and rapid inflation.

The Democratic Party lost a net of 15 seats to the Republican Party, and thus lost their two-thirds supermajority, but still maintained a large 277-seat majority.

As of 2025, this was the last midterm election where the Democrats managed to maintain a majority in the House of Representatives under a Democratic president, the last midterm election in which a registered third party member[b] was elected, and the last time overall in which any party won at least 270 House seats.

382 incumbent members sought reelection, but 5 were defeated in primaries and 19 defeated in the general election for a total of 358 incumbents winning.