Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced on June 29, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2026.
On his retirement, Tillis said in a statement, “In Washington over the last few years, it’s become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species. […] It’s not a hard choice, and I will not be seeking re-election.”
Tillis announced his retirement the day after opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on a procedural vote. He and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) were the only Republicans to vote against the bill in the procedural vote.
In 2014, Tillis ran for his first term representing North Carolina in the Senate. In the general election, he defeated incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) 49% to 47%. Hagan was one of five incumbent senators to lose re-election in a general election that year. Tillis won re-election in 2020, defeating Cal Cunningham (D) 49% to 47%.
As of June 24, 2025, three independent race forecasters have differed in their ratings of the 2026 general election for the seat. The Cook Political Report rated the seat Lean Republican, Inside Elections rated it Battleground Republican, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Toss-up.
The Hill’s Al Weaver wrote, “The North Carolina Senate seat was widely considered the toughest for the majority party to defend next year, and that job will likely only get more difficult with Tillis bowing out.”
As of June 29, 2025, 20 members of the U.S. Congress—seven senators and 13 representatives—have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.
Of the senators not running for re-election, seven—Tillis, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.)—announced their retirements from public office, while the other—Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)—is running for governor of Alabama.
Compared to the last four election cycles, there were four retirement announcements at this point in 2024, five in 2022, four in 2020, and none in 2018.
Between January 2011 and June 29, 2025, Ballotpedia followed 367 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—13—happened in June.
