Record number of lawmakers retiring from Congress ahead of midterms

On Friday, Republican Congressman Sam Graves of Missouri became the 36th Republican — and 57th House member — to announce plans not to seek re-election, saying it was time to “pass the torch” to a new generation.

In fact, more Republicans are retiring ahead of the midterms than at any point in nearly a century, according to an ABC News tally of retirement announcements and a review of historical data since 1930 compiled by the Brookings Institution.

Heading for the exits

That’s a larger cohort than the 34 Republicans who did not run to keep their seats in 2018, when Republicans lost the majority in a 40-seat wave election to Democrats during the first Trump administration.

It includes powerful committee chairs, including Graves and Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, the Republican leader of the House Budget Committee; veterans such as retired Navy SEAL Rep. Morgan Luttrell of Texas and retired Air Force brigadier general Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska; and 20 Republicans running for Senate or governor of their home states.

Two other Republicans, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, retired before the end of the term. Rep. Dan Crenshaw lost his primary in Texas this month.

“Republicans are staring down the barrel of the minority party, which is not a fulfilling place to be in federal politics in 2026,” said Casey Burgat, the director of the Legislative Affairs Program at George Washington University.

So far, 21 House Democrats have announced plans to retire, more than the total that left ahead of the 2018 midterms, but less than the 29 Democrats who did not run for office again before the party lost the House majority in 2021.

Of that cohort, eight launched bids for Senate or governor of their home states. Another Democrat, former Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, has already left Congress and won the New Jersey governor’s race last fall.

Many reasons for leaving

Many of the lawmakers cited personal reasons, including long careers and their families, as shaping their decisions not to seek office again.

Others dropped re-election bids following redistricting fights that scrambled political maps and would have forced them to campaign in new districts.

The group of retiring members, particularly the Democrats, includes influential party leaders who have spent decades in Congress, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

The 86-year-old Democrats began their political lives decades ago, as interns together in the 1960’s for then-Maryland Sen. Daniel Brewster.

Still, some of the oldest members of Congress, such as 88-year-old Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., and 87-year-old Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., are running for re-election.

Rep. Jared Golden, 43, a moderate Democrat from Maine, surprised some colleagues when he announced plans to retire from his Trump-leaning district.

In his announcement, he pointed to the “increasing incivility and plain nastiness” of politics, and “recent incidents of political violence” that factored into his decision to leave public life.

“As a father, I have to consider whether the good I can achieve outweighs everything my family endures as a result,” he wrote in the Bangor Daily News.

Golden also voiced frustration with the state of Congress and the longest shutdown in government history last fall, arguing that the dysfunction led him to reconsider his options.

With redistricting from both parties carving up the House map and leaving fewer truly competitive swing districts, politicians may be motivated by what helps them win primaries elections, over what can be done through legislative compromise across Capitol Hill, Burgat said.

“Compromise has become a dirty word,” he told ABC News.