Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) announced on Nov. 20, 2025, that she will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.
On her retirement, Velázquez posted on X, “After much reflection, I have decided that this will be my last term in Congress. This was not an easy decision, but I believe that the time is right for me to move on and for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”
In 1992, Velázquez won her first term in the U.S. House in New York’s 12th Congressional District. In the Democratic primary, she defeated incumbent Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.) 33% to 27%. In the general election, Velázquez defeated Angel Diaz (R) 55% to 12%.
Velázquez won by a median of 56.5 percentage points in her six re-election bids in which she ran with major party opposition in the district. She ran without major party opposition in 1994, 2022, and 2010. Velázquez’s widest margin of victory (MOV) in the district was in 2008 when she won by 74 percentage points. Her narrowest MOV in the district was in 1998 when she won by 55 percentage points.
Starting in 2012, Velázquez ran for re-election in New York’s 7th Congressional District due to redistricting. In her five re-election bids in which she ran with major party opposition in the district, Velázquez won by 80 percentage points in 2014, 82 percentage points in 2016, 70 percentage points in 2020, 61 percentage points in 2022, and 56 percentage points in 2024. She ran without major party opposition in 2012 and 2018.
As of Nov. 18, 2025, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for the district Solid Democratic. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic.
As of Nov. 20, 2025, Velázquez is one of 45 members of the U.S. Congress—eight U.S. Senate members and 37 U.S. House members—who have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.
Of the 37 representatives not seeking re-election:
- Thirteen—nine Democrats and four Republicans—are retiring from public office.
- Twelve—six Democrats and six Republicans—are running for the U.S. Senate.
- Eleven—all Republicans—are running for governor.
- One Republican is running for state attorney general.
Compared to the last four election cycles, there were 25 retirement announcements at this point in 2024, 24 in 2022, 27 in 2020, and 31 in 2018.
Between January 2011 to November 2025, Ballotpedia followed 335 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.
