*Party division totals are based on election day results.
Democrats, benefitting from the continuing recession, picked up numerous seats in Congress after the 1958 elections. The 86th Congress (1959–1961) admitted Hawaii into the Union, and allowed television to cover the congressional hearings on racketeering in trade unions. These hearings led to the Landrum-Griffin Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act that sought to eliminate organized crime from trade unions. Federal employees were provided health insurance, and voters in the District of Columbia gained the right to vote in national elections with three electoral votes following the ratification of the 23rd Amendment.
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1Alaska entered Congress at the beginning of the 86th Congress, while Hawaii's Representative did not join Congress until August 21, 1959.
2Reelected January 7, 1959
3Reelected January 7, 1959
