The House of Representatives
435 members, all of them up for election every two years. Because every seat is contested constantly, the House shows shifts in the country's politics faster and more sharply than the Senate does.
222 Democrats, 227 Republicans, 1 other, counting everyone who served at any point in the 119th Congress. 218 is a majority.
The House votes on procedure constantly, so this number runs high.
456 votes where most Democrats were on one side and most Republicans on the other.
Distance between the average Democrat and the average Republican, where 2.0 is the maximum.
Who holds the seats
The number of Democrats and Republicans in the House, every Congress since 1857. Bar height is total membership, so you can see the chamber grow as states joined.
How far apart they sit
Every member of the House placed by their own voting record. Drag the slider to move through history. Where the blue and red ranges overlap, members of both parties were voting in similar ways — the space where deals got made.
222 Democrats in this Congress.
227 Republicans in this Congress.
Distance between the two averages. 2.0 is the maximum possible.
Members whose voting record put them inside the range of the other party.
Members in the middle
How many members sat in territory the other party also occupied — the people who could be persuaded either way. In the House the number is now 0.
Votes that split the parties
The share of recorded votes where most Democrats were on one side and most Republicans on the other. This is about behaviour on the floor, not where members sit.
Why show several measures instead of one 'polarization' number?
Because they disagree, and the disagreement is the interesting part. Take the 91st House (1969–1971): the two party averages were further apart than they had been in 1947 — but 203 members still sat in shared territory, and only 29% of votes split the parties. A single number would have called that a polarized Congress. It was the opposite: an era when cross-party coalitions decided almost everything.
Closest recent votes
The narrowest party-line roll calls in the current House.
| Vote | Result | Yea | Nay | D yes | R yes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act2026-05-21 · On Motion to Recommit | Failed | 209 | 209 | 209 | 0 |
| Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the 2026-05-14 · On Agreeing to the Resolution | Failed | 212 | 212 | 209 | 3 |
| To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress2026-01-22 · On Agreeing to the Resolution | Failed | 215 | 215 | 213 | 2 |
| HR24832025-06-04 · On Agreeing to the Amendment | Failed | 213 | 213 | 211 | 2 |
| HR88002026-07-21 · On Agreeing to the Amendment | Agreed to | 215 | 214 | 3 | 212 |
| HR88002026-07-21 · On Agreeing to the Amendment | Agreed to | 215 | 214 | 4 | 211 |
| Take Care of America’s Veterans Act2026-07-16 · On Motion to Recommit | Failed | 210 | 211 | 207 | 3 |
| Providing for consideration of the bills (H.R. 8646) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations A2026-06-03 · On Ordering the Previous Question | Passed | 208 | 207 | 0 | 207 |
| Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1041) Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6047) Sharri 2026-05-20 · On Agreeing to the Resolution | Passed | 208 | 207 | 0 | 207 |
| PROTECT Kids Act2026-05-20 · On Motion to Recommit | Failed | 207 | 208 | 207 | 0 |