An AP analysis shows that 10% of U.S. House members have announced they will not run for re-election

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s starting to look like an exodus.

Dozens of members of the US House of Representatives have announced that they will not run for re-election, creating a record number of seats at this point in the midterm election cycle.

Some are looking for other offices, while others are retiring after decades of service. A few members are leaving rather than running in unfamiliar districts after their state leaders redrew boundaries during an unusual wave of redistricting.

Read more: Who retires from Congress or does not seek re-election? Here’s a guide

More than 10% of incumbents plan to leave, the highest percentage at this point in the calendar since at least President Barack Obama’s administration, according to an Associated Press analysis of House retirements dating back to 2013.

47 current representatives – 21 Democrats and 26 Republicans – announced that they will retire from the House of Representatives after this year, effective Wednesday. This total does not include the nine members who resigned or died during this period and whose seats will be filled before the general election in November.

Read more: 22 candidates are vying in Georgia to succeed Marjorie Taylor Greene in Congress

Members of the current Congress have announced plans to leave earlier than in years past. In the first half of 2025, 15 deputies announced their intention to leave the House of Representatives. In the past decade, an average of nine MPs announced their retirement in the first six months of their term.

These early retirement announcements came as President Donald Trump and the Republican leadership try to maintain a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. The president’s party usually loses seats in Congress in midterm elections. In recent years, this has meant that more party members in power have turned for the exit. This year, slightly more Republicans than Democrats have announced retirement.

Three factors contributed to the rise in retirement rates this year.

Other offices are more attractive

The first is that a large number of Senate seats and gubernatorial offices are open or competitive. Eleven senators have announced that they will vacate their seats at the end of the term, either to seek another position or to retire. There are gubernatorial elections in 36 states this year, 15 of which have fixed-term positions.

He watches: How retirements and redistricting could affect the 2026 midterm elections | PBS News

In all, 27 — the majority of retiring House members — said they would seek another position. Fourteen said they would seek Senate seats, and 12 announced campaigns for governor. Some have since withdrawn from those races.

Congress has aged

The second is systemic: More older lawmakers are retiring because Congress itself is older. As the population ages nationally, and long-standing trends make it increasingly likely that incumbents will win re-election, Congress has become increasingly older, especially in this century.

As of January 1, the average age of all voting members of the 119th Congress is just under 59 years old. The average age of a House member is 57 years old, and the average age of a Senator is approximately 65 years old, both slightly below the record levels reached in the 118th Congress. By contrast, from 1919 to 1999, the average senator was no older than 60, and the average representative was no older than 55.

Read more: 5 things on Congress’s agenda right now

This age shift is particularly evident among retired legislators. Of all the lawmakers leaving after the 119th Congress — including those running for other offices — the average age of a retiring senator is over 68, and the average retiring representative is about 57. When it comes to politicians who are not seeking other office, both groups skew older: the average retired senator is over 70 years old, and the average retired representative is 67 years old. Four of the 10 most senior members of Congress will retire after this period, effective Wednesday.

Mid-decade redistricting shakes up maps

The third is unique to 2026. Six states have adopted new congressional maps since the last general election, with more interesting redistrictings in response to Trump’s desire to redraw the lines to be more favorable to the GOP.

Incumbents in states ranging from California to Texas have been grouped together or have chosen not to run in new versions of their districts that are much less favorable.

He watches: Rep. Steny Hoyer announced his retirement in an emotional House speech

Only a few representatives — two in Texas — specifically cited redistricting as a reason for their departure. But as more states finalize their lines, others could find themselves competing against their colleagues or looking for exits.

methodology

Current data for congressional retirement and party composition comes from the official Casualty List and Party Details page in the U.S. House of Representatives Press Gallery. Historical retirement data during the 113th Congress (2013-2015) has been compiled from previous versions of this web page, which are accessible via the Internet Archive.

The Press Gallery distinguishes between members who retire and those who die in office or resign. Members who have died in office and most members who have resigned during their term are excluded. Actors who have announced their retirement but have resigned in that period are classified as “resigned” and are therefore excluded. This includes, for example, former representatives like Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, and Kelly Armstrong, Republican, who retired to seek other positions and resigned several weeks before their final terms officially ended. Five representatives were classified as “retiring” because they announced their retirement during their final term but resigned three days before that term officially ended: Candace Miller, R-Mich., 114th; Michelle Lujan Grisham, D.N.M., at 115th; Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and J. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., 117th; and Jeff Jackson, D.N.C., at 118.

Announcement dates were collected manually, based on news reports and official press releases. Representatives who have announced plans to run for another office are registered as running for that office even if they later withdraw from that race.

___

Associated Press writer Leah Askarinam in Washington contributed to this report.