Sixty-eight members of the U.S. Congress — 57 U.S. representatives and 11 U.S. senators — have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026.
Since our April 23 update, two U.S. representatives announced they will not seek re-election. Here’s a list of how independent election forecasters have rated the 2026 general election for each district and state these incumbents currently represent.
- Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) announced on April 28 that he is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the district as either Solid or Safe Republican .
- Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) announced on May 15 that he is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the district as either Solid or Safe Republican .
U.S. House of Representatives
Fifty-seven U.S. representatives — 21 Democrats and 36 Republicans — will not seek re-election in 2026. Of the 57 members not seeking re-election:
- Thirty — 14 Democrats and 16 Republicans — are retiring from public office
- Sixteen — seven Democrats and nine Republicans — are running for the U.S. Senate
- Ten — all Republicans — are running for governor
- One Republican is running for state attorney general
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were 44 retirement announcements in 2024, 48 in 2022, 35 in 2020, and 51 in 2018.
Seven of the 57 retiring U.S. representatives — two Democrats and five Republicans — won by 10 percentage points or fewer in 2024. Three U.S. representatives — Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) — won by fewer than five percentage points.
U.S. Senate
Eleven senators — four Democrats and seven Republicans — announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. Senators Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) are retiring from public office. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is running for governor of Alabama.
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were eight retirement announcements in 2024, six in 2022, four in 2020, and three in 2018.
Looking at the last time those 10 U.S. senators ran in 2020, five of them — two Democrats and three Republicans — won by 10 percentage points or less. Tillis and Peters won by less than five percentage points. Armstrong — who was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2026 — was not on the ballot in 2020.
Between January 2011 and May 2026, 414 U.S. Senate and House incumbents announced they would not seek re-election. The 74 retirement announcements in January is the most of any month. June had the fewest at 16.
Editor's note: This article was updated to correct the number of U.S. representatives not seeking re-election from 55 to 57, correct U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster’s party affiliation to Republican, and clarify that U.S. Sen. Kelly Armstrong was appointed to office rather than elected in 2020.
