1972 United States House of Representatives elections

1972 United States House of Representatives elections

← 1970 November 7, 1972 1974 →
All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives 218 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Carl Albert Gerald Ford Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 21, 1971 January 3, 1965 Leader's seat Oklahoma 3rd Michigan 5th Last election 255 seats 180 seats Seats won 242 192 Seat change 13 12 Popular vote 37,071,352 33,119,664 Percentage 52.1% 46.5% Swing 1.5% 1.6%   Third party   Party Independent Democratic Last election 0 seats Seats won 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 137,664 Percentage 0.2% Swing
Results:      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain      Independent gain
Speaker before election Carl Albert Democratic Elected Speaker Carl Albert Democratic

The 1972 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 1972, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 93rd United States Congress. This was the first election held after the 1970 United States redistricting cycle. It coincided with the landslide reelection victory of President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon's Republican Party managed to gain a net of twelve House of Representatives seats from the Democratic Party, although the Democrats retained a majority.

This was the first election in which citizens at least 18 years of age (instead of 21 and older) could vote, due to the recent passage of the 26th Amendment. This was the last time until 2022 that a Democrat would win a House seat in Alaska,^[1] and the first time since 1888 that a Republican won a House seat in Louisiana.^[2]