As of September 10, 2020, 3,169 major party candidates filed to run for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.
For U.S. Senate, 519 candidates filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Of those, 402—199 Democrats and 203 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties.
• In 2018, 529 candidates filed to run for Senate, including 138 Democrats and 241 Republicans.
• In 2016, 474 candidates ran, including 133 Democrats and 175 Republicans.
For U.S. House, 3,263 candidates have filed with the FEC to run. Of those, 2,767—1,291 Democrats and 1,476 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties.
• In 2018, 3,242 candidates filed to run for House, including 1,576 Democrats and 1,149 Republicans.
• In 2016, 2,430 candidates ran, including 898 Democrats and 1,025 Republicans.
Thirty-seven members of the U.S. House are not seeking re-election in 2020. That includes 27 Republicans, nine Democrats, and one Libertarian. Four senators (three Republicans and one Democrat) are not running for re-election.
• In 2018, 55 members of Congress—18 Democrats and 37 Republicans—did not seek re-election.
• In 2016, 45 members of Congress—19 Democrats and 26 Republicans—did not seek re-election.
On November 3, 2020, 35 Senate seats and all 435 House seats are up for election. Of those Senate seats, 33 are regularly scheduled elections, while the other two are special elections in Arizona and Georgia. Twelve are Democratic-held seats and 23 are Republican-held seats. In the House, Democrats currently hold a majority with 232 seats.
Additional reading
United States Senate elections, 2020
United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
List of U.S. Congress incumbents who are not running for re-election in 2020
List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2018
List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2016
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