1930 United States elections

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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox United States elections

| year = 1930

| type = Midterm elections

| election_day = November 4

| next_congress = 72nd

| incumbent_president = Herbert Hoover (Republican)

| senate_seats_contested = 35 of 96 seats
(32 Class 2 seats + 7 special elections)Four Class 2 seats held both a regularly-scheduled election and a special election in 1930. These seats are not double-counted for the total number of seats contested.

| senate_control = Republican hold

| senate_net_change = Democratic +8Democrats picked up six seats in the regularly-scheduled elections and an additional two seats in the special elections.

| senate_map = 400px

| senate_map_caption = 1930 Senate election results{{paragraph break}}

{{legend-inline|#0671B0|Democratic gain}} {{legend-inline|#92C5DE|Democratic hold}}

{{legend-inline|#CA0120|Republican gain}} {{legend-inline|#F48882|Republican hold}}

| house_seats_contested = All 435 voting seats

| house_control = Democratic gainDemocrats fell just short of winning a majority in the regularly-scheduled elections of 1930, but they won a majority in special elections that preceded the next Congress.

| house_net_change = Democratic +52

| house_pv_margin = Republican +8.5%

| house_map = 400px

| house_map_caption =

| governor_seats_contested = 33

| governor_net_change = Democratic +7

| governor_map = {{1930 United States gubernatorial elections imagemap}}

| governor_map_caption = 1930 gubernatorial election results{{paragraph break}}

{{legend-inline|#0671B0|Democratic gain}} {{legend-inline|#92C5DE|Democratic hold}}

{{legend-inline|#CA0120|Republican gain}} {{legend-inline|#F48882|Republican hold}}

{{legend-inline|#40A839|Farmer-Labor gain}} {{legend-inline|#666666|Independent gain}}

}}

Elections were held on November 4, 1930, in the middle of Republican President Herbert Hoover's term. Taking place shortly after the start of the Great Depression, the Republican Party suffered substantial losses. The election was the last of the Fourth Party System, and marked the first time since 1918 that Democrats controlled either chamber of Congress.{{cite web|title=Party Divisions of the House of Representatives|url=http://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/|publisher=United States House of Representatives|access-date=25 June 2014}}{{cite web|title=Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present|url=https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm|publisher=United States Senate|access-date=25 June 2014}}

The Republicans lost fifty-two seats to the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives. While the Republicans maintained a one-seat majority after the polls closed, they lost a number of special elections (since some Republican members died) before the start of the new Congress. This allowed the Democrats to take control of the chamber.

The Republicans also lost eight seats to the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, but were able to narrowly maintain control.{{cite web|title=Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1930|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1930election.pdf|publisher=U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk|access-date=29 December 2011}}

The election was a victory for progressives of both parties, as Republicans closely aligned with Hoover lost several Congressional elections. Additionally, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide re-election established him as the front-runner for the 1932 Democratic nomination.{{cite book|last1=Busch|first1=Andrew|title=Horses in Midstream|url=https://archive.org/details/horsesinmidstrea0000busc|url-access=registration|date=1999|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/horsesinmidstrea0000busc/page/77 77]–78}}