Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) announced on July 31, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.

On his retirement, Davis said, “The road has not always been the easiest, but I tell you I’ve had so much fun doing this job, I would do it for nothing.” While announcing his retirement, Davis also endorsed state Rep. La Shawn Ford (D) in the race to succeed him in the House.

In 1996, Davis ran for his first term in the House in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District after then-Rep. Cardiss Collins (D-Ill.) announced she would not seek re-election. Previously, Davis ran unsuccessfully against Collins in the 1984 and 1986 Democratic primaries for the district. In the 1996 general election, Davis defeated Randy Borow (R) 83% to 15%.

Davis won by a median of 70 percentage points in his subsequent 12 re-election bids in which he ran with major party opposition. He ran without major party opposition in 1998 and 2022. Davis’ widest margin of victory (MOV) was in 2018, when he won by 76 percentage points. His narrowest MOV was in 2010 and 2024, when he won by 66 percentage points in each election.

As of July 29, 2025, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District Solid Democratic. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic.

Davis is the fifth member of Illinois’ 19-member congressional delegation to announce that they will not seek re-election to their current seat in 2026. The other members include:

• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is retiring from public office.
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who is retiring from public office.
• Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who is running to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.
• Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), who is running to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate.

As of July 31, 2025, a total of 26 members of the U.S. Congress—seven senators and 19 representatives—have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.

Of the 19 representatives not seeking re-election:

• Four—three Democrats and one Republican—are retiring from public office.
• Eight—five Democrats and three Republicans—are running for the U.S. Senate.
• Seven—all Republicans—are running for governor.

Compared to the last four election cycles, there were 12 retirement announcements at this point in 2024, 14 in 2022, 11 in 2020, and 13 in 2018.

Between January 2011 and July 31, 2025, Ballotpedia followed 373 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 took place in August at 15.