Rep. Jodey Arrington becomes the sixth member of Texas’ congressional delegation to announce their retirement

By

Briana Ryan

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) announced on Nov. 11, 2025, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.

In a video announcing his retirement, Arrington said, “As much good as we’ve done together, there’s a time and season for everything. And this season is coming to a close. That’s why today I am announcing I will not be seeking reelection. Instead, I’ll be looking for the next challenge, I’ll be spending quality time with my family and I will be passing the torch to the next West Texan.”

In 2016, Arrington won his first term in the U.S. House in Texas’ 19th Congressional District after then-incumbent Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) announced his retirement. Arrington ran without major party opposition in the general election.

In his two subsequent re-election bids in which he ran with major party opposition, Arrington won by 50 percentage points in 2018 and 52 percentage points in 2020. Arrington ran without major party opposition in 2022 and 2024.

As of Nov. 4, 2025, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for the district as Solid Republican. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican.

Arrington is the sixth member of Texas’ 40-member congressional delegation to announce that they will not seek re-election to their current seat in 2026. The other members were:

  • Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who is retiring from public office.
  • Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), who is retiring from public office.
  • Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), who is retiring from public office.
  • Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), who is running to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
  • Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who is running for attorney general of Texas.

As of Nov. 11, 2025, Arrington 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.