A number of incumbent House lawmakers have announced they will not seek another term in office.
The announcements ring in a likely season of retirement decisions, as Democrats and Republicans weigh their futures and seek to give their potential successors time to campaign.
While some of those leaving their House seats are vying for the Senate or different offices, others are simply getting ready for a life outside politics.
Here are the House members who say they won’t be running for reelection in 2024.
Democrats retiring from office (12)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.)
Blumenauer, 75, announced he will not run for reelection after serving Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District for 27 years.
His district, which includes north Portland and much of its southeast, is a solidly Democratic district that has a rating of D+22 by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Blumenauer was elected to the House in 1996 in a special election to fill the seat of Democrat Ron Wyden, who left the lower chamber for his current seat in the Senate.
Rep. Tony Cárdenas (Calif.)
Cárdenas will not run for reelection in 2024 after nearly three decades in public service.
Cárdenas, 60, told the Los Angeles Times he is at the age where he has “enough energy and experience to maybe do something [different]” where he doesn’t have to be in Washington, D.C., 32 weeks out of the year.
Cárdenas was first elected to the U.S. House in 2013 to represent California’s 29th Congressional District, making him the first Latino elected to represent the San Fernando Valley.
Cárdenas’s district in deep blue California leans heavily towards Democrats with the Cook Political Report labeling it D+26. The seat will likely stay in Democrats’ hands, though it could be a crowded race.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (Calif.)
Eshoo won’t seek another term in the lower chamber after over three decades serving a Northern California district.
She was first elected in 1992 in the “Year of the Woman” and was the first woman and first Democrat to hold her seat.
Eshoo’s Silicon Valley district is considered a solidly Democrat race, with a Cook Political Report rating of D+26.
Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.)
Higgins, 64, stepped down from the lower chamber in February, citing frustrations with Congress.
He served 19 years in Congress and represented New York’s 26th Congressional District, which will likely stay in Democratic hands. The Cook Political Report considers the race “solid Democrat,” with a rating of D+9.
His early departure will likely pave the way for a special election for the seat in the spring.
Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.)
Kildee, 65, will not seek reelection in 2024, saying his cancer diagnosis earlier this year sparked a need to reassess his career plans.
The Michigan Democrat said while he had a successful surgery and is now cancer-free, the experience made him realize it time to step back form public office.
Kildee’s retirement opens a competitive seat in the heart of Michigan to represent the state’s 8th Congressional District. The seat was considered “lean Democratic” according to the Cook Political Report before the announcement. His retirement likely moves the seat to a toss-up for 2024.
Rep. Derek Kilmer (Wash.)
Kilmer, 49, won’t run for reelection, after serving Washington’s 5th Congressional District since 2013.
Kilmer previously served as the chair of the New Democrat Coalition from 2019 to 2021 and was the chair of the House Modernization Committee from 2019 to 2023.
Kilmer’s district is considered “solid Democrat” by the Cook Political Report, at a rating of D+6.
Rep. Kathy Manning (N.C.)
Manning said she won’t be running for reelection in 2024, citing the “egregiously gerrymandered” congressional maps in North Carolina.
Manning appeared open to future service, adding, “if the impending lawsuits are successful and the General Assembly is forced to draw fair congressional districts, I will seek to continue my service to our community.”
Manning, 67, is in her second term representing North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. Under new GOP-led congressional lines approved in October, Manning was widely expected to be threatened by the new map.
Cook Political Report rated the race as “solid Republican.”
Rep. Grace Napolitano (Calif.)
Napolitano will retire at the end of her term after 25 years in Congress. Napolitano, 86, was first elected to Congress in 1998 and is the oldest member of the House.
While she moved districts several times because of redistricting, she has represented portions of eastern Los Angeles throughout her career. She represents California’s 31st Congressional District, which is likely to stay in Democratic hands in 2024.
Rep. Wiley Nickel (N.C.)
Nickel won’t run for reelection, arguing the Republicans who approved North Carolina’s new congressional maps “rigged the system” in the party’s favor.
Nickel, 48, is in his first term as representative for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District, which Cook Political Report now labels as “solid Republican” race under the redrawn maps. He joins the growing number of North Carolina Democrats who are citing the new maps as the reason for not running in 2024.
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.)
Ruppersberger is retiring from Congress at the end of his term after serving 11 terms in the upper chamber.
Ruppersberger, 77, who represents Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District, sits on the House Appropriations Committee. He served on the House Intelligence Committee and for four years was the top Democrat on the panel.
His seat will likely stay in Democrat hands. President Biden easily won the district in the 2020 election, besting former President Trump 59.4 percent to 38.6 percent.
Rep. John Sarbanes (Md.)
Sarbanes will not run for reelection in 2024. He said he is being drawn back to his previous work with nonprofits and volunteering in his community.
Sarbanes, 61, has represented Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District since 2007. Sarbanes’s seat is likely safe for Democrats in 2024, with Cook Political Report forecasting the race will be “solid Democrat” with a rating of D+10.
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (Va.)
Wexton will not seek reelection in 2024 in light of worsening health challenges.
Wexton, 55, revealed in April she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In September 2023, the Virginia Democrat said her diagnosis changed to progressive supranuclear palsy, which she described as “Parkinson’s on steroids.”
Wexton was elected in 2018 to represent Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, which will likely stay Democratic in 2024, per Cook Political Report.
Democrats seeking other offices (12)
Rep. Colin Allred (Texas)
Allred announced he will run for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R).
In his announcement for his Senate bid, Allred said he was prepared to “take on anyone who came through” during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and pointed to a comment from a rioter who said he believed Cruz “would want us to do this.”
Allred, 40, is in his third term as a representative for Texas’s 32nd Congressional District, which Cook Political Report lists as “solid Democrat” with a rating of D+14.
But Allred’s Senate bid could be an uphill challenge, as Texas has not elected a Democratic senator in 30 years. Acknowledging this, Allred said “someone like me was never supposed to get this far” and that he has “taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz.”
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.)
Blunt Rochester will not run for her seat in the House but instead for Delaware’s seat in the Senate, which will be left vacant by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who is retiring.
Blunt Rochester has represented Delaware’s at-large congressional district since 2017, and she was the first woman and first African American to represent Delaware in Congress. The Cook Political Report rates the at-large district as “solid Democrat.”
Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.)
Gallego will not seek reelection in the House but will instead run for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-Ariz.) seat in the higher chamber.
In announcing his Senate bid, Gallego pointed to his pursuit of the “American dream” during his childhood and said “too many Arizonans see their dream slipping away.”
The 47-year-old Democrat was first elected to the House in 2014 to represent Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. With a Cook Political Rating of D+24, it is likely the seat will remain in Democratic hands in 2024.
Rep. Jeff Jackson (N.C.)
Jackson will throw his hat in the ring for North Carolina’s attorney general in 2024 after just one term in the House.
Jackson, 41, a former local prosecutor, ex-state senator and Afghan war veteran, won an open House seat in 2022 for North Carolina’s 14th Congressional District.
At the time, the district leaned Democratic, but the GOP-led state Legislature has since approved new redrawn maps that makes the district more favorable for Republicans.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) announced at the beginning of 2023 that he would be running for the state’s governorship.
Rep. Andy Kim (N.J.)
Kim announced he would not run for his seat in the House and will instead challenge Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is facing a federal indictment on corruption charges.
Kim, 41, was the first lawmaker from New Jersey to call on Menendez to resign in the wake of the allegations. Menendez has pushed back against the charges and said he has no plans to step down from the Senate despite repeated calls from his Democratic colleagues.
Kim, who represents New Jersey’s newly drawn 3rd Congressional District, said his Senate bid was “not something he expected,” while noting New Jersey “deserves better.”
Kim is in his third term in the lower chamber after being first elected in 2018. His district represents parts of southern and central New Jersey, with the newly drawn maps including more Democratic voters than the previous district’s boundaries, per The Associated Press. Cook Political Report rates the district as “likely Democrat” with a score of D+5.
Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.)
Lee is part of the crowded race to replace the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
Feinstein died in September at her home in Washington, D.C., at the age of 90, though she had already announced she was not running for reelection next year.
In launching her Senate bid in February, Lee, 77, said she is running for the higher chamber because “Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who has accomplished real things and delivered real change.”
Lee has served California’s 12th District since 1998.
Sen. Laphonza Butler, the former president of EMILY’s List, is currently filling Feinstein’s seat until the 2024 election.
Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.)
Phillips will not seek another term in Congress as he pursues a long-shot primary challenge to President Biden in the 2024 election.
Phillips, 54, was first elected in 2018 to represent Minnesota’s 3rd District, which is likely to stay in Democrat hands, according to the Cook Political Report.
Phillip’s presidential bid, launched in October, drew criticism from Democrats who argued it would harm Biden’s reelection chances. Phillips has argued it is time for Biden, 81, to “pass the torch” to the next generation of leaders.
Rep. Katie Porter (Calif.)
Porter also has eyes on replacing Feinstein.
In her announcement, which came before Feinstein announced her retirement, Porter said “it’s time for new leadership in the U.S. Senate” and the Golden Gate State “needs a warrior in Washington.”
Porter, 49, was elected to the House in California’s 45th Congressional District in 2018. As part of California’s’ redistricting, Porter now serves the 47th Congressional District, which leans Democrat.
Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.)
Schiff jumped into the California Senate with the hopes of replacing Feinstein.
Schiff is serving his 12th term representing California’s 30th Congressional District, which is rated as “solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report.
In announcing his Senate bid earlier this year, Schiff said the U.S. Senate needs a fighter “who has been at the center of the struggle for our democracy and our economy.”
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.)
Slotkin launched a bid to succeed Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) at the beginning of 2023, just months after she was reelected to a third term in the 2022 midterms.
Slotkin, 47, represents Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, which is forecast to be a “toss up” race.
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.)
Spanberger launched a bid for Virginia governor, announcing she will not seek reelection to the House next year.
Spanberger said she knows “how to bring people together” at a time when the nation is at “a crossroads.”
Spanberger, 44, is serving her third term in the House after first being elected in 2018 to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
In the wake of her announcement, the Cook Political Report shifted the forecast for the district race from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat” with a rating of D+1.
Rep. David Trone (Md.)
Trone is seeking Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-Md.) seat in the Senate after Cardin announced he would not seek reelection.
Trone has represented Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the northern suburbs of Washington since 2019. Cook Political Report predicted the race for Trone’s seat will be “likely Democrat” in 2024, meaning it is not considered competitive at this point but could become so ahead of the election.
Republicans retiring from office (17)
Rep. Larry Bucshon (Ind.)
Bucshon will retire at the end of his term in early 2025 after serving in Congress since 2011.
Bucshon, 61, represents Indiana’s 8th Congressional District, a “solid Republican” district, according to the Cook Political Report. He won his most recent reelection bids with over 65 percent of the vote in 2020 and 2022.
Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.)
Buck was the second Republican to announce he won’t run for reelection, just hours after Rep. Kay Granger (Texas) announced her plans.
Buck, who is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, pointed to the election denialism within his party in a video announcement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
The 64-year-old lawmaker was first elected to Congress in 2014 to represent Colorado’s 4th District. The district voted for former President Trump by nearly 19 points in 2020, a signal the Republican primary candidate is likely to win Buck’s seat.
Rep. Michael Burgess (Texas)
Burgess announced he will not seek reelection in 2024, opening up another Dallas-area seat in the 2024 House elections.
Burgess, 72, was first elected to Congress in 2002 and practiced medicine for nearly three decades earlier.
The Texas Republican said he will serve the remainder of his term until January 2025 and did not provide a reason for his retirement.
Burgess represents Texas’s 26 Congressional District, which is likely to stay in Republican hands. Cook Political Report labels the district as “solid Republican” with a rating of R+13.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (S.C.)
Duncan will retire from the House at the end of his term after 14 years in the lower chamber, and said it is time for new leadership and “fresh ideas” in South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District.
Duncan, 58, was first elected to Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party wave that handed Republicans control of the House.
His South Carolina seat is very likely to stay in Republican hands, with a Cook Political Report score of R+21 for his district. Former President Trump won the area by over 30 percentage points in 2020.
Rep. Drew Ferguson (Ga.)
Ferguson, 57, revealed near the end of 2023 he will not run for reelection in 2024. He did not provide a reason for the choice, but said he is looking forward to spending more time with his family.
Ferguson represents Georgia’s 3 Congressional District, which will likely stay in Republican hands in 2024, the Cook Political Report forecasts.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wisc.)
Gallagher will depart from Congress at the end of his term after four terms in the lower chamber.
The Wisconsin Republican, who currently serves as chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, announced his decision just days after he was among three lone Republicans to vote “no” in the House’s first impeachment vote on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
According to Cook Political Report, his district is a solidly Republican with a rating of R+10.
Rep. Kay Granger (Texas)
Granger will not seek to take back her seat in 2024, capping off 14 terms in the House.
The veteran Republican lawmaker and chair of the House Appropriations Committee said she will serve the remainder of term, which will expire Jan. 3, 2025 — exactly 28 years since she was sworn into the lower chamber.
Granger, 80, was elected in 1997 to represent the 12th Congressional District of Texas after previously serving as the first female mayor of Fort Worth.
In her announcement, Granger said she is “encouraged by the next generation of leaders” in her district.
Granger’s district in north Texas tends to lean conservative and is expected to remain in Republican control in the 2024 election.
Rep. Bill Johnson (Ohio)
Johnson has left Congress to take a position as the president of Youngstown University.
Johnson, 69, was elected to Ohio’s 6th Congressional District in 2010. The seat is likely to stay in Republican control, with Cook Political Report rating the race as “solid Republican.”
He was initially slated to resign before mid-March, but resigned earlier than expected on Jan. 2.
Rep. Doug Lamborn (Colo.)
Lamborn announced at the beginning of 2024 he will not run for reelection, freeing up all three of the state’s Republican-held congressional seats in the 2024 election.
Lamborn, 69, is in his ninth term and was the longest-serving Republican in his state’s delegation.
He represents Colorado’s 5th Congressional District, which is solidly Republican with a Cook Political Report score of R+9.
Rep. Jake LaTurner (Kan.)
LaTurner, 36, will leave the House at the end of his term to better focus on his family and young children, he announced in April.
His 2nd Congressional District covers central Kansas City and much of the eastern part of the state. It is a solid red district, with Republicans expected to win the set in November.
Rep. Debbie Lesko (Ariz.)
Lesko said she won’t run for reelection because “Washington, D.C. is broken.” The 64-year-old lawmaker said she also wants to spend more time with her family.
Lesko was sworn into Congress in 2018 after winning a special election to fill the seat left by former Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). She was voted into a full term in November 2018.
A Republican candidate will likely fill her seat for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District given the district’s lean.
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (Miss.)
Luetkemeyer will retire at the end of his term at the end of 2024.
Luetkemeyer, 71, was elected to Congress in 2009 and represents Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes areas to the north, south and west of St. Louis. The area is considered solidly Republican.
He is currently a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee and was seen as a top contender to replace House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), who is also leaving Congress at the end of his term.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.)
McCarthy, the first House Speaker to be ousted from the top spot, departed the House altogether at the end of 2023.
His decision came two months after he was removed from his role as Speaker in a historic 216-210 vote. All House Democrats and eight Republicans voted to remove the Speaker’s gavel from the 58-year-old lawmaker.
McCarthy came to Congress in 2007 and served in various GOP leadership positions along the years. He currently serves California’s 20th District, which Cook Political Report rates as a “solid Republican” race.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (N.C.)
McHenry announced in December he will retire at the end of the 188th Congress, capping off McHenry’s nearly two-decade tenure in Congress.
McHenry, 48, was thrown into the national spotlight in October when he served as the Speaker pro tempore following the historic ousting of McCarthy.
The North Carolina Republican serves as the chair of the Financial Services Committee and was first elected to the U.S. House in 2004.
He represents North Carolina’s 10th Congressional District, which Cook labels as a “Solid Republican” district with a rating of R+22.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.)
Rodgers, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said she will not run for reelection after serving for nearly two decades.
Rodgers, 54, is the first woman to chair the Energy and Commerce Committee. She served as chair of the House Republican Conference from 2012 to 2018.
She represents the 5th Congressional District of Washington, which includes Spokane. Her seat will likely stay in Republican hands and has district as a “solid Republican” rating of R+8.
Rep. Greg Pence (Ind.)
Pence will retire from Congress at the end of his term after six years in the lower chamber.
Pence, 67, was first elected to the House in 2018 to serve Indiana’s 6th Congressional District, which is likely to stay in Republican hands. The Cook Political Report categorizes the district as “solid Republican,” with a rating of R+19.
He is the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, and found himself involved with his brother’s ongoing tensions with former President Trump over the former vice president’s refusal to overturn the 2020 election results.
Rep. Bill Posey (Fla.)
Posey, 76, announced April 26 that he will retire the House at the end of the current term.
He was elected to the House in 2008 after serving for 18 years in the Florida Legislature.
Posey is also a staunch supporter of former President Trump and said he will continue working to help the former president get reelected in November.
“It has been the greatest honor of Katie’s and my life to represent you in Congress. And, polls suggest that because of YOUR support, I could remain in the job forever, and we were looking forward to another spirited campaign for a final term in office,” he wrote in a statement. “However, earlier this week circumstances beyond my control now require me to suspend my re-election campaign.”
He has already endorsed a replacement, state Sen. Mike Haridopolos, who officially jumped into the race earlier this week.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (Md.)
Rosendale will retire at the end of his current term, reversing his decision in March after previously announcing he would seek reelection.
The announcement came weeks after the Montana Republican launched a Senate campaign in early February, but suspended it days later after a number of high-profile Republicans endorsed his primary opponent.
Rosendale, 63, said he and his family received death threats in the wake of what he claimed were “false and defamatory rumors.” He did not elaborate on the threats or allegations, though it came days after former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp alleged he dropped his Senate bid because of a rumor that “he impregnated a 20-year-old staff person.”
Rep. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio)
Wenstrup, 65, won’t seek reelection in the House next year and said in November he will retire from Congress “at the end of the year.”
Wenstrup was first elected to Congress in 2013 to represent Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, which has a heavy lean towards Republicans. Cook Political Report labels the race as “solid Republican” with a rating of R+25.
Republicans seeking other offices (5)
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (N.D.)
Armstrong launched a bid for North Dakota’s governor and will not run for reelection, leaving open the state’s sole House seat.
Armstrong, 47, was first elected to the House in 2018 after serving six years in the state Senate and as chair of the North Dakota Republican Party.
Former state Rep. Rick Becker and Democrat Trygve Hammer, a military veteran, have already announced bids for the at-large seat.
North Dakota’s at-large district is solidly Republican, and the Cook Political Report labels the district as R+20.
Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.)
Banks is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is running for governor in the Hoosier State.
Banks, 44, was elected to serve Indiana’s 3rd District in 2016. He previously served in the Indiana state Senate for six years. Banks’s district is considered a “solid Republican” race with a Cook Political rating of R+18.
Rep. Dan Bishop (N.C.)
Bishop will run for North Carolina’s attorney general instead of seeking reelection for his seat.
Bishop, 59, was elected to Congress in 2019 and is a prominent member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
He represents North Carolina’s 8th District, which leans red with a Cook Political Report rating of R+20.
Rep. John Curtis (Utah)
Curtis started the new year off by announcing he will run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah.)
Curtis, the former mayor of Provo, Utah, was elected to the U.S. House in 2017 to represent Utah’s 3rd Congressional District. The district, which covers the Provo area, is solidly Republican with a Cook Political Report rating of R+13.
Rep. Alex Mooney (W.Va.)
Mooney will not seek a sixth House term, but instead will challenge Sen. Joe Manchin (D).
Launching his Senate bid last year, Mooney said he was “all in” and hammered Manchin as a “liberal Democrat.”
Mooney, 52, is serving his fifth term in the House. His district is considered “solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report with a score of R+22.
Republican expelled from the House
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)
Santos was expelled from the House on Dec. 1 after more than two-thirds of those present voted to remove him from Congress.
Santos has previously said he would not run for reelection, an announcement he made in November shortly after the House Ethics Committee released a scathing report over “substantial evidence” that showed the embattled lawmaker “violated federal crimes.”
Santos had avoided expulsion twice amid a series of legal fights. He faces a total of 23 federal charges alleging he inflated campaign finance reports, charged donors’ credit cards without authorization and fraudulently received unemployment benefits.
Santos admitted earlier this year to embellishing parts of his background while campaigning but rejected calls to resign.
Santos flipped New York’s 3rd Congressional District from Democrat to Republican in 2022. The Cook Political Report said it is a lean-Democrat seat for the 2024 cycle.
Lawmakers who reversed their decision
Two Republican lawmakers initially announced their retirement plans, but reversed these decisions upon further thought.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) in February said she will seek another term in the House, nearly a year after she announced she would retire to spend more time with family. She said she decided to continue fighting for her constituents given the “challenging times for our Republic.”
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) similarly changed his mind, just two weeks after saying he would retire at the end of his current term. He said the reverse in choice came after he fielded calls from various people, including former President Trump, encouraging him to run again.
Updated: April 27 at 11:50 a.m.
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