Rep. Michael McCaul becomes the 27th U.S. House member who is not seeking re-election in 2026

By

Briana Ryan

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) announced on Sept. 14, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.

On his retirement, McCaul said, “It’s been an honor to serve for over two decades in the Congress […] I’m looking now for a new challenge. I’m going to serve the remainder of my term. But I’m looking for a new challenge in the same space that would be national security, foreign policy, but just in a different realm.”

In 2004, McCaul won his first term in the U.S. House in Texas’ 10th Congressional District after running without major party opposition. The district was opened that year due to redistricting, which moved incumbent Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) to Texas’ 25th Congressional District.

McCaul won by a median of 21.5 percentage points in his subsequent 10 re-election bids in which he ran with major party opposition. McCaul’s widest margin of victory (MOV) was in 2010, when he won by 32 percentage points. His narrowest MOV was in 2018, when he won by four percentage points.

As of Sept. 9, 2025, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for the seat Solid Republican. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican.

As of Sept. 14, 2025, McCaul is one of 35 members of the U.S. Congress—eight U.S. Senate members and 27 U.S. House members—who have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.

Of the 27 representatives not seeking re-election:

  • Eight—five Democrats and three Republicans—are retiring from public office.
  • Ten—five Democrats and five Republicans—are running for the U.S. Senate.
  • Eight—all Republicans—are running for governor.
  • One Republican is running for state attorney general.

Compared to the last four election cycles, there were 15 retirement announcements at this point in 2024, 19 in 2022, 21 in 2020, and 21 in 2018.

Between January 2011 and September 2025, Ballotpedia followed 327 announcements from U.S. House members who announced they would not seek re-election. January had the highest number of members announcing they would not run for re-election at 57. The fewest announcements took place in June at 15.