Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) announced on April 28, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.

On his retirement, Connolly—who previously announced in November 2024 that he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer—wrote, “After grueling treatments, we’ve learned that the cancer, while initially beaten back, has now returned. … The sun is setting on my time in public service, and this will be my last term in Congress.”

In 2008, Connolly ran for his first term in the House in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District after then-Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-Va.) announced he would not seek re-election. Connolly defeated Keith S. Fimian (R) in the general election 55% to 43%.

Connolly won by a median of 34 percentage in his seven subsequent re-election bids in which he ran with major party opposition. He ran unopposed in 2016. Connolly’s widest margin of victory (MOV) was in 2018, when he won by 44 percentage points. His narrowest MOV was in 2010, when he won a rematch against Fimian by 0.4 of a percentage point.

As of April 29, 2025, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District as Solid Democratic. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it as Safe Democratic.

In addition to announcing his retirement, Connolly also announced that he planned to step down as the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability for the 119th Congress. CBS News’ Kaia Hubbard wrote, “Connolly’s announcement could prompt a generational shift at the top of the Oversight Committee, after a push for a younger crop of Democratic committee leaders late last year as the party sought to combat GOP control of both chambers.”

As of April 29, 2025, 14 members of the U.S. Congress—five senators and nine representatives—have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.

Of the nine representatives—four Democrats and five Republicans—not seeking re-election:

• One Democrat is retiring from public office.
• Four—three Democrats and one Republican—are running for the U.S. Senate.
• Four—all Republicans—are running for governor.

Compared to the last four election cycles, there were eight retirement announcements at this point in 2024, 11 in 2022, five in 2020, and seven in 2018.

From January 2011 and to now, Ballotpedia followed 361 announcements from Senate and House members who announced they would not seek re-election. January had seen the highest number of announcements of any month at 69. The fewest announcements—12—happened in June.