Rep. Julia Brownley becomes the 46th U.S. House member who is not seeking re-election in 2026

By

Briana Ryan

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) announced on Jan. 8, 2026, that she will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.

In a statement announcing her retirement, Brownley wrote, “Serving our community and our country has been the honor of my lifetime. Every step of this journey has been shaped by the people I represent, by their resilience, their determination, and their belief that government can and should work for the common good."

In 2012, Brownley first ran for the U.S. House in California’s 26th Congressional District after then-incumbent Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) announced he would not seek re-election. In the general election, Brownley defeated Tony Strickland (R) 53% to 47%. California’s 26th Congressional District was one of 27 previously Republican-held districts that Democrats won in 2012.

Brownley won by a median of 16.5 percentage points in her six re-election bids which she ran with major party opposition in the district. Brownley’s widest margin of victory (MOV) in the district was in 2018, when she won by 24 percentage points. Her narrowest MOV in the district was in 2014, when she won by three percentage points.

As of Jan. 6, 2026, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for the district as Solid Democratic. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic.

As of Jan. 8, 2026, Brownley is one of 55 members of the U.S. Congress — nine U.S. Senate members and 46 U.S. House members — who have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.

Of the 46 U.S. House incumbents who are 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 state attorney general.

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

Between January 2011 to January 2026, Ballotpedia followed 348 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.