The 1978 election did not elicit much response at the time. Most believed that the status quo had been maintained, with Democrats the dominant party in both houses of Congress. However, the reality was that for the first time since 1974 Republicans made gains. There was a lot of turnover in both houses, 77 in the House and 20 in the Senate, though the net GOP gain was only three Senators and about 14 Representatives (including Newt Gingrich). The numbers do not tell the story, though, of the ideological shift that took place that year - a move to the right.
One Senator saw it coming: