Welcome to the Wednesday, June 19, Brew.
By: Ethan Sorell
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Fifty-three members of Congress have announced retirement so far this year, compared to 55 at this point in 2022
- Thirty bills related to Juneteenth introduced in state legislatures so far this year
- Intern with us!
Fifty-three members of Congress have announced retirement so far this year, compared to 55 at this point in 2022
Fifty-three members of Congress—eight senators and 45 representatives—have announced they will not seek re-election this year. Ballotpedia does not include incumbents leaving office early in our analysis of incumbents not running for re-election.
Since our May 22 update on congressional incumbents not seeking re-election, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) announced his retirement from the House.
In 2018, 55 incumbents retired from Congress. In the two election years following 2018, the total number of retirements decreased to 39 in 2020, then increased to 55 in 2022 An average of 38.68 members retired from Congress each election year between 1930 and 2022.
House
In the House, 45 incumbents are not seeking re-election this year. Between 1930 and 2022, there was an average of 33.28 House retirements each election year.
Looking at all representatives who are not seeking re-election in 2024:
- 12—three Republicans and nine Democrats—are running for the U.S. Senate.
- Two—one Democrat and one Republican—are running for state attorney general.
- Two—one Democrat and one Republican—are running for governor.
- One Democrat ran for President of the United States.
- 28—12 Democrats and 16 Republicans—are retiring from public office.
When comparing the 45 House retirements to the last three cycles, there were 49 House retirements at this point in 2022, 35 at this point in 2020, and 52 at this point in 2018.
Senate
On the Senate side, eight incumbents are not seeking re-election this year. Between 1930 and 2022, there was an average of 5.4 Senate retirements each election year.
The eight senators who are not seeking re-election are:
- Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.)
- Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.)
- Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.)
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah)
- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.)
- Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
- Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.)
The number of senators not running for re-election this year is higher than the three previous election years. Six senators did not seek re-election in 2022, four didn’t in 2020, and three didn’t in 2018.
Thirty bills related to Juneteenth introduced in state legislatures so far this year
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to deliver the news of the end of slavery and the Civil War. In 2021, it officially became America’s 11th federal holiday.
In today’s edition, we’ll look at recent state-level legislative activity related to Juneteenth, the status of the holiday’s recognition across the country, and the legislative journey that led to it becoming a federal holiday.
State-level legislative activity
Ballotpedia (with the help of our partners at BillTrack50, which aggregates legislative data from all 50 states) began tracking state legislation on Juneteenth in 2020, and our data goes back to 2011. Between 2011 and June 18, 2024, state lawmakers introduced 423 bills or resolutions related to Juneteenth and have enacted 178. These numbers include bills signed into law or resolutions passed by legislatures commemorating, establishing, observing, or recognizing the Juneteenth holiday or local Juneteenth celebrations and do not include resolutions memorializing or recognizing individuals or groups.
State lawmakers have introduced 30 Juneteenth bills or resolutions so far this year and have enacted 6. Between 2011 and 2024, the most bills or resolutions were introduced in 2021, with 73 introduced bills. The most bills were enacted in 2023, with 32 enacted bills. The year with the fewest number of introduced Juneteenth bills was 2024, with eight introduced bills. Three Juneteenth bills were enacted in 2012 and 2014, which ties for the fewest number of enacted Juneteenth Bills during that span.
Path to becoming a federal holiday
Previous presidents, including Barack Obama (D) and Donald Trump (R), recognized Juneteenth before it became a federal holiday in 2021.
In June 2018, the Senate passed SR 547, a bipartisan resolution “designating June 19, 2018, as ‘Juneteenth Independence Day’ in recognition of June 19, 1865, the date on which slavery legally came to an end in the United States.” U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) introduced a similar resolution, H.Res.948, in the House of Representatives that month, but lawmakers took no further actions on the bill after it was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
On June 19, 2020, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D) introduced S.4019, a bill to make Juneteenth an official federal holiday. Rep. Jackson Lee also introduced corresponding legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that day. The bills were referred to committees, and lawmakers took no further action.
On June 15, 2021, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S.475, a bill to establish June 19 as a legal public holiday called Juneteenth National Independence Day. The U.S. House passed the bill the following day by a vote of 415-14. President Joe Biden (D) signed the bill into law on June 17, 2021.
There are currently 11 federal holidays. The last federal holiday established before Juneteenth was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which President Ronald Reagan (R) signed into law in 1983.
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