Democrats picked up 49 seats in the House and 5 in the Senate. This group greatly increased the strength of Northerners and liberals in the House Democratic Caucus. They joined more senior liberals to strike a blow against the seniority system and overthrow three committee chairmen whom they viewed as too conservative and/or too old to represent the caucus: William R. Poage (D-TX), Wright Patman (D-TX), and F. Edward Hébert (D-LA).