No members of the U.S. Congress have announced plans to not seek re-election in 2026 since Nov. 27. That means the total number of congressional retirements for 2026 remains at one.
The last incumbent to announce their retirement was Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who said he would not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. Grijalva was first elected to the U.S. House in 2002.
Additionally, two members of Congress have either resigned or announced their intention to resign from the 119th Congress:
- Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned from the 118th and 119th Congresses on Nov. 13, after Pres.-elect Donald Trump(R) selected Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general in his second presidential term. On Nov. 21, Gaetz withdrew himself from consideration for the position.
- Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) announced that he would resign on Jan. 20 to serve as national security advisor in Trump’s second presidential term.
Ballotpedia does not include incumbents leaving office early in our analysis of incumbents not running for re-election. Special elections for both seats will be on April 1.
Congressional retirements by year
An average of 39 members retired from Congress each election cycle between 1930 and 2024.
In 2018, 55 incumbents retired from Congress. In the two election cycles following 2018, the total number of retirements decreased to 40 in 2020 and then increased to 55 in 2022. In 2024, 53 incumbents—eight U.S. senators and 45 U.S. representatives—retired from Congress.
Congressional retirements by month
Between January 2011 and November 2024, 348 members of Congress retired. Out of every election cycle from 2012 to 2024, the 2018 cycle had the most retirements, at 55, and the 2020 cycle had the fewest, with four. From 2011 to 2024, there was an average of 50 announcements per cycle.
- January had the highest number of announcements during an election year at 47, while August, September, and October had the fewest at one each.
- November had the highest number of announcements during an off year at 41, while June had the fewest at nine.
