Like his predecessor Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, Truman and the Democratic party managed to maintain control of both houses, defying the six-year itch phenomenon for the second time in a row. However, the election was still a defeat for Truman, as it strengthened the conservative coalition and ensured that none of Truman's Fair Deal policies would pass. Republicans also ran against Truman's prosecution of the Korean War, and the 82nd Congress subsequently conducted numerous investigations into the course of the war. The election set the stage for the presidency of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower and the centre-right policies of the 1950s.[3]
^Two Class 3 seats held both a regularly-scheduled election and a special election in 1950. These two seats are not double-counted for the total number of seats contested.