When the new freshman class is sworn in, the House Republican caucus will be more conservative than it has been since the historic Republican victory of 1994. In 2000, HUMAN EVENTS reported that three new conservative House Republicans replaced three outgoing liberal Republicans—even as the GOP lost one seat. This year, the GOP made history by gaining seven seats in the House while also holding the presidency. Even better, the House GOP caucus will post a net gain of at least eight truly conservative members, by HUMAN EVENTS’ analysis. Meanwhile, four liberal Republicans are leaving: Connie Morella (Md.) was defeated, Greg Ganske (Iowa) ran unsuccessfully for the Senate, and Marge Roukema (N.J.) and Ben Gilman (N.Y.) retired. Five Republicans judged to be moderate by HUMAN EVENTS will leave the House, while seven anticipated GOP moderates will come to Capitol Hill. One race, to replace Rep. John Cooksey (R.-La.), will be decided in a December 7 runoff. Lee Fletcher, a staunch conservative, is expected to win in the heavily Republican district, bringing the final conservative gain to nine. The ideological labels given to the congressmen-elect below are based on candidates’ previous records and their campaign positions. Republicans Entering Congress
| CONSERVATIVE: 24 (NET +8) |
CENTER-RIGHT: 7 (NET +2) |
LIBERAL: 1 (NET -3) |
| Gresham Barrett (S.C.) | Ginny Brown-Waite (Fla.) | Jeb Bradley (N.H.) |
| Bob Beauprez (Colo.) | Katherine Harris (Fla.) | |
| Rob Bishop (Utah) | Tim Murphy (Pa.) | |
| Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) | Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) | |
| Jo Bonner (Ala.) | Candice Miller (Mich.) | |
| Mike Burgess (Tex.) | Devin Nunes (Calif.) | |
| Max Burns (Ga.) | Mike Turner (Ohio) | |
| John Carter (Tex.) | ||
| Chris Chocola (Ind.) | ||
| Tom Cole (Okla.) | ||
| Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.) | ||
| Trent Franks (Ariz.) | ||
| Tom Feeney (Fla.) | ||
| Scott Garrett (N.J.) | ||
| Phil Gingrey (Ga.) | ||
| Jeb Hensarling (Tex.) | ||
| William Janklow (S.D.) | ||
| John Kline (Minn.) | ||
| Steve King (Iowa) | ||
| Marilyn Musgrave (Colo.) | ||
| Steve Pearce (N.M.) | ||
| Jon Porter (Nev.) | ||
| Rick Renzi (Ariz.) | ||
| Mike Rogers (Ala.) |
Republicans Leaving Congress
| CONSERVATIVE: 16 | CENTER-RIGHT: 5 | LIBERAL: 4 |
| Dick Armey (Tex.) | Bob Ehrlich (Md.) | Ben Gilman (N.Y.) |
| Bob Barr (Ga.) | Lindey Graham (S.C.) | Marge Roukema (N.J.) |
| Ed Bryant (Tenn.) | Felix Grucci (N.Y.) | Greg Ganske (Iowa) |
| Sonny Callahan (Ala.) | Dan Miller (Fla.) | Connie Morella (Md.) |
| Saxby Chambliss (Ga.) | John Thune (S.D.) | |
| John Cooksey (La.) | ||
| George Gekas (Pa.) | ||
| Jim Hansen (Utah) | ||
| Van Hilleary (Tenn.) | ||
| Brian Kerns (Ind.) | ||
| Bob Riley (Ala.) | ||
| Joe Skeen (N.M.) | ||
| Bob Stump (Ariz.) | ||
| John Sununu (N.H.) | ||
| Bob Schaffer (Colo.) | ||
| J.C. Watts (Okla.) |
