As of Jan. 12, 55 members of Congress — 46 representatives and nine senators — have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. That’s the most retirement announcements at this point in an election cycle since 2018.

Since our Dec. 17 update, four representatives and one senator announced they will not seek re-election. Here’s a list of how independent election forecasters have rated the 2026 general election for each district these incumbents currently represent.

• Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) announced on Dec. 17 that he is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the district as either Solid or Safe Republican.
• Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) announced on Dec. 19 that she is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the seat as either Solid or Safe Republican.
• Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) announced on Dec. 23 that she is running for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming. Election forecasters have rated the election for the seat as either Solid or Safe Republican.
• Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced on Jan. 7 that he is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the district as either Solid or Safe Democratic.
• Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) announced on Jan. 8 that she is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the district as either Solid or Safe Democratic.

Additionally, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) resigned on Jan. 5, and Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) died Jan. 6. Since Greene and LaMalfa did not finish their terms in the U.S. House, they are not included in our analysis of congressional retirements.

U.S. House of Representatives

Forty-six representatives — 21 Democrats and 25 Republicans — will not seek re-election in 2026. Of the 46 members not seeking re-election:

• Twenty — 13 Democrats and seven Republicans — are retiring from public office
• Fourteen — seven Democrats and seven Republicans — are running for the U.S. Senate
• Eleven — one Democrat and 10 Republicans — are running for governor
• One Republican is running for attorney general of Texas

At this point in the last four election cycles, there were 40 retirement announcements in 2024, 41 in 2022, 34 in 2020, and 42 in 2018.

Six of the 46 retiring representatives — two Democrats and four Republicans — won by 10 percentage points or fewer in 2024. Three representatives — Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) — won by fewer than five percentage points.

U.S. Senate

Nine senators — four Democrats and five Republicans — announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. Senators Lummis, Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) are retiring from public office. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is running for governor of Alabama.

At this point in the last four election cycles, there were seven retirement announcements in 2024, six in 2022, four in 2020, and three in 2018.

Looking at the last time those nine senators ran in 2020, four of them — two Democrats and two Republicans — won by 10 percentage points or less. Tillis and Peters won by less than five percentage points.

Between January 2011 and January 2026, 400 U.S. Senate and House incumbents announced they would not seek re-election. The 69 retirement announcements in January is the most of any month. June had the fewest at 16.

Click here to read more about members of the U.S. Senate who are not seeking re-election in 2026, and here for more about members of the U.S. House who are not seeking re-election in 2026.