In the past week, one new 2020 Congressional retirement was announced. Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey (NY-17) announced that she would not seek re-election in 2020. To date, four Senators (three Republicans and one Democrat) and 23 Representatives (17 Republicans and six Democrats) are not running for re-election. In 2018, 55 total members of Congress—18 Democrats and 37 Republicans—did not seek re-election.
As of October 14, 2019, 265 candidates are filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate in 2020. Of those, 236—125 Democrats and 111 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties. In 2018, 527 candidates filed with the FEC to run for U.S. Senate, including 137 Democrats and 240 Republicans.
1,567 candidates are filed with the FEC to run for U.S. House in 2020. Of those, 1,468—746 Democrats and 722 Republicans—are from one of the two major political parties. In 2018, 3,244 candidates filed with the FEC, including 1,566 Democrats and 1,155 Republicans.
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, one is a special election in Arizona, and another is an expected special election in Georgia. Twelve are Democratic-held seats and 23 are Republican-held seats. In the House, where all the seats are up for election, Democrats currently hold a 235-seat majority.
Additional reading: