Rep. Ralph Abraham not seeking re-election; 2,598 major party candidates filed for 2020 Congress elections


Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) announced last week he would not seek re-election this year. He was the 28th Republican member of the U.S. House to announce he would not seek re-election in 2020. Nine Democratic representatives have announced they will not run for re-election.

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.

As of March 2, 2,598 major party candidates have filed to run for the Senate and House of Representatives in 2020.

So far, 370 candidates are filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate. Of those, 316—164 Democrats and 152 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, 2,517 candidates are filed with the FEC to run in 2020. Of those, 2,282—1,083 Democrats and 1,199 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, 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.

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