demographic trends aided the democrats, as the german and irish catholic immigrants were mostly democrats and outnumbered the british and scandinavian republicans. during the 1880s, elections were remarkably close. the democrats usually lost, but won in 1884 and 1892. in the 1894 congressional elections, the gop scored the biggest landslide in its history as democrats were blamed for the severe economic depression 1893–1897 and the violent coal and railroad strikes of 1894.