Continued Apathy.

Continued apathy (the lowest voter participation since 1942) characterized the elections of 1978 at the national level. There was virtually no change in the division of party strength in Congress. The Republicans picked up sixteen seats in the House, but the majority of these gains were in districts that had been Republican before 1974, when voter backlash against Watergate elected Democrats in traditionally Republican areas. Senatorial races reflected the growing conservatism of those who bothered to vote. Although the Republicans only gained three seats in the Senate, five incumbent liberal Democrats were defeated. Republicans gained the Minnesota seat once held by archliberal Humphrey, and in Mississippi Republican Thad Cochran defeated Democrat Maurice Dantin for the spot once held by Democrat James Eastland. Cochran was the first Republican to represent Mississippi since Reconstruction. Despite these victories voters also selected Democrats who would become forces in...