Mass retirements rock Congress with more pols calling quits on reelection

WASHINGTON — Congress is experiencing a mass retirement wave, with House lawmakers bolting for the exits at a higher clip than they have in at least the past decade amid pressure on older members to step aside.

Thus far, there have been 37 reps and eight senators — roughly 9.6% of congressional lawmakers up for reelection in both chambers — passing on defending their seat in the 2026 midterms, according to data compiled by Ballotpedia.

That’s the highest rate of retirements from the House at this stage in over a decade, though Senate retirements are even with what they were last year.

For context, at this stage of the 2024 cycle, there were only 25 House retirements.

The exodus comes against the backdrop of growing scrutiny of aging members of Congress over a year out from the Democratic revolt against former President Joe Biden, 82, fueled by fears about his mental acuity.

Within just the past week, multiple longtime pols, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 85, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, 80, of New Jersey, and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, 53, all announced retirement plans.

Notably, the dean of the House, Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), 87, has filed for reelection, while Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), 87, has continued to raise money for a possible reelection bid, seemingly bucking the trend.

There are also questions about whether Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), 86, who is facing a younger primary challenger, and fellow Pelosi lieutenant, Rep. James Clyburn, 85, intended to run for another term.

Clyburn could be at risk of facing redistricting upheaval if the Supreme Court pares back race-based drawing of congressional districts under the Voting Rights Act.

Additionally, a rare mid-decade redistricting arms race has loomed large over some lawmakers’ decisions to retire, particularly in places like California and Texas.

Still, the bulk of the retirements are from reps who are vying for another office, such as governor, senator, or attorney general. There are 11 Republican reps running for governor and a dozen House lawmakers vying for Senate.

Only about a dozen retirements in the House are by reps who are calling it quits on elected office altogether.

Retiring Republican pols in both chambers of Congress outnumber Democrats 26 to 19, which is generally expected as the GOP is thought to be facing an uphill battle in the midterm cycle due to historical headwinds against the party in power.

Few of those retirements open up competitive House seats, though Democrats are losing Jared Golden (D-Maine), while Republicans are losing Don Bacon (R-Neb.)

On the Senate side, competitive seats Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have scrambled the race to control the upper chamber.

Other Senate bigwig and veteran retirements include Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who are running for governor.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Col.) have announced plans to run for governor, which means that their seats could become vacant after the 2026 midterms.

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) isn’t up for reelection until 2028, there has been pressure on him from the progressive base this past week to step aside as the top Senate Democrat and not vie for another term.