Sixty-six members of the U.S. Congress — 55 U.S. representatives and 11 U.S. senators — have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026.
Since our March 16 update, one U.S. representative and one U.S. 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 and state these incumbents currently represent.
- Sen. Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.) signed an affidavit on March 24 stating that he will not run to represent Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate in 2026. Election forecasters have rated the election for the seat as either Solid or Safe Republican.
- Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) announced on March 27 that he is retiring from public office. Election forecasters have rated the election for the district as either Solid or Safe Republican.
Since the last update, Armstrong was appointed to succeed Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) in the U.S. Senate. Mullin resigned to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. Additionally, Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) have resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives. Ballotpedia does not include members who leave office before the end of their term in our analysis of retirements because, in most cases, we expect successors to be sworn in before the next general elections.
U.S. House of Representatives
Fifty-five U.S. representatives — 20 Democrats and 35 Republicans — will not seek re-election in 2026. Of the 55 members not seeking re-election:
- Twenty-eight — 13 Democrats and 15 Republicans — are retiring from public office
- Sixteen — seven Democrats and nine Republicans — are running for the U.S. Senate
- Ten — all Republicans — are running for governor
- One Republican is running for state attorney general
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were 44 retirement announcements in 2024, 46 in 2022, 35 in 2020, and 49 in 2018.
Seven of the 55 retiring U.S. representatives — two Democrats and five Republicans — won by 10 percentage points or fewer in 2024. Three U.S. representatives — Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) — won by fewer than five percentage points.
U.S. Senate
Eleven senators — four Democrats and seven Republicans — announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. Senators Armstrong, Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), 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 eight retirement announcements in 2024, six in 2022, four in 2020, and three in 2018.
Looking at the last time those 11 U.S. senators ran in 2020, five of them — two Democrats and three Republicans — won by 10 percentage points or less. Tillis and Peters won by less than five percentage points.
Between January 2011 and April 2026, 413 U.S. Senate and House incumbents announced they would not seek re-election. The 74 retirement announcements in January is the most of any month. June had the fewest at 16.
