The election occurred in the middle of Democratic President John F. Kennedy's term.

In the House of Representatives, Republicans picked up a seat from the Democrats but were short of winning a majority in the chamber; the Democrats won the national popular vote by a margin of 5.3 percentage points.

This was the first time since 1914 that the president's party had a net gain in the Senate and lost seats in the House; this would occur again in 1970, 2018, and 2022.

After failing to pass his New Frontier programs in the face of the powerful conservative coalition, Kennedy's victory in this election helped bolster his presidency.

The election also saw the Republicans pick up several House seats in the South for the first time in the Fifth Party System.