2,557 major party candidates filed for 2020 Congress elections, no new retirements last week


As of February 17, 2020, 2,557 major party candidates have filed to run for the Senate and House of Representatives in 2020.

So far, 360 candidates are filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate in 2020. Of those, 307—163 Democrats and 144 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.

For U.S. House, 2,472 candidates are filed with the FEC to run in 2020. Of those, 2,250—1,070 Democrats and 1,180 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.

No new congressional retirements were announced last week. Thirty-six representatives are not seeking re-election in 2020. Of those, 27 are Republican and nine are Democratic. Four senators (three Republicans and one Democrat) are not running for re-election. In 2018, 55 total members of Congress—18 Democrats and 37 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.

Click here to read more about the U.S. Senate elections in 2020.
Click here to read more about the U.S. House of Representatives elections in 2020.
Click here for a list of U.S. Congress incumbents who are not running for re-election in 2020.