This year, 19 former House members announced candidacies for a non-consecutive term. Three former Senators have announced campaigns for office, meaning a total of 22 former members of Congress have announced candidacies, the highest number in any cycle going back to 2016.

The 19 House members are running in 13 states, though two — Rod Blum (R-Iowa) and Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) — withdrew their candidacies. The state with the most former members running is Texas, with four (one Democrat and three Republicans). Eleven of these former members are Democrats, and eight are Republicans. The average length of time between the end of their terms and their next election was almost eight years, or four full House terms. The longest gap is for William Hilleary (R-Tenn.), who, at the time of the primary, will have been out of the House for nearly 24 years.

On the Senate side, three ex-senators are running in Ohio and New Hampshire. Ballotpedia has previously reported that this is the most Senators running for a non-consecutive term since 2012 and 2014, when three former Senators ran in those years.

More former members of Congress are running in the 2026 election cycle than in any cycle since 2016, with 22 total members running. The next highest cycles are 2020 and 2024, with 15 members each. The cycle with the fewest former members running was 2016 and 2018, with 12 members each.

In elections since 2016, the most successful year for former members was in 2020, when five former members won again. The least successful year was in 2022, when only one member won a bid for a non-consecutive term. The most common outcome in three cycles — 2018, 2020, and 2022 — was a defeat in the primary. In 2016 and 2024, the most common result was a defeat in the general election.

To read more about members running again, click here.