DemDaily: The Congressional Exodus: The Final Count

July 16, 2026

Going into the last stretch of the 2026 midterm elections, in the wake of the upending of dozens of US House seats by President Donald Trump's tumultuous mid-decade redistricting battle, the final landscape of lawmakers leaving the lower chamber appears to be clear.

Combined with a historically unstable Congress and White House, the exodus has reached unprecedented numbers.

No less than 80 members of the 119th Congress -- voluntarily or by force -- have made this term their last, including 44 Republicans and 34 Democrats, as well as two non-voting Delegates (D).

The Retirements
Of the 435 voting members of Congress, 31 incumbents are retiring from public office outright, including 15 Democrats and 16 Republicans.

Higher Office: An exceptional 29 House incumbents gambled on running for another office.

US Senate (16): Seven Democratic and nine Republican House members have or are running for the US Senate -- in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Wyoming and in the upcoming high-profile primaries in Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota.

Governor (12): Two Democrats and 10 Republicans have or are running for governor -- in Arizona, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee, as well as upcoming primaries in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Attorney General (1): Texas Congressman Chop Roy (R) ran for State Attorney General.

Special Elections (13): Thirteen seats have or will be decided by special elections where members resigned, passed away, or vacated their congressional seats early.

Those included Arizona 7 (Grijalva/D), Florida 1 (Gaetz/R), Florida 6 (Waltz/R), Georgia 14 (Greene/R), New Jersey 11 (Sherrill/D), Tennessee 7 (Green/R), Texas 18 (Turner/D), and Virginia (Connolly/D).

Remaining special elections include California 1 (LaMalfa/R), California 14 (Swalwell/D), Florida 20 (Cherfilus-McCormick/D), Georgia 13 (Scott/D) and Texas 23 (Gonzalez/R).

Primary Loses (7): Two Republicans and five Democrats - three as a result of Texas redistricting pushed through by the state's GOP-controlled legislature -- lost their primaries.

Status of Congress: 18% of the 119th Congress will not return to their seats after the 2026 midterms.

Republicans are defending a razor-thin 220-215 majority in the US House -- the smallest margin in modern history. Democrats will need to win a net three seats to take control of the lower chamber.

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Kimberly Scott
Publisher

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Sources: Ballotpedia, US House, Politico, CNN, Cook Political Report, Washington Post, Campaigns, Ballotpedia