As the midterm election cycle gets underway, lawmakers are departing the House of Representatives in droves — propelled by age, political calculations and sheer frustration with the dysfunction and paralysis of the institution.
Cumulative announced departures from the House by election cycle
Note: Line for 2026 does not include Matt Gaetz, who resigned before he was sworn into the 119th Congress.
The number of Republicans departing the House this cycle is one of the highest since 1930, according to Brookings Vital Statistics on Congress. This cycle’s Republican departures are surpassed only by 2018, the midterm election year during President Trump’s first term when his party was also bracing for big losses. (The G.O.P. lost 40 House seats, and the majority, that year.)
More Republicans have announced departures than Democrats so far
Through the same point in each cycle (202 days until Election Day)
Note: Chart excludes Bernie Sanders, an Independent who announced his departure in 2005 to run for Senate, and Justin Amash, a Libertarian who announced his departure in 2020 to run for president.
Such a high rate of turnover in the majority party typically reflects incumbents preferring to leave Congress than risk serving in the minority. More than 30 Democrats departed the House during the 2022 midterm election cycle, in which Republicans won the majority.
Over the past year, G.O.P. resignations have reflected the challenge of remaining unified amid intraparty fissures and constant pressure from Mr. Trump to fall in line on every issue. When she announced her abrupt resignation in the middle of her term in December, Representative Majorie Taylor Greene likened serving in Congress to being a “battered wife,” and said Americans were right not to trust their government.
Several members from both parties are seeking Senate or governor’s seats that offer longer terms and an escape from the burdens of governing from one of the slimmest majorities in modern congressional history.
Members vacating their seats to run for another office
Through the same point in each cycle (202 days until Election Day)
Note: Chart includes those who announced plans to run for another office, even if they later withdrew from that race.
While November’s midterm elections may be some of the tightest in several cycles, few departures so far are expected to significantly alter the balance of power in the House.
Each party has so far gained just one opportunity to flip a seat in a district won by the other party’s presidential candidate. Republicans have a strong chance of picking up the seat being vacated by Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, who repeatedly managed to win in a Trump-friendly district. And Democrats have an opportunity to flip the seat being vacated by Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, who represents an Omaha-centered district that has increasingly trended toward Democrats.
An aggressive redistricting arms race instigated by Republicans and matched by Democrats has also reshaped the political map. In Texas, Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat, opted for retirement after his district was combined with that of a fellow Democrat, Representative Greg Casar. In California, Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican, is ending his 12-term career rather than run in a newly drawn district likely to favor a Democrat.
The turnover lays the groundwork for generational change that some Democrats have resisted for years. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and her longtime No. 2 in leadership, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, both octogenarians, each announced their retirements after decades in the House.
Republicans are also poised to lose a wave of senior lawmakers who lead key panels, including Representatives Jodey Arrington of Texas, the Budget Committee chairman; Sam Graves of Missouri, the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; and Mark Amodei, who heads the subcommittee that oversees homeland security spending. Their exits mean a loss of institutional knowledge but will also open the door for younger members to ascend.
Announced departures in the 2026 cycle
Seats that are competitive or likely to flip
|
| Retiring | +5 Harris |
| Retiring | +9 Trump |
 Issa R Calif. 48 (Redrawn) | Retiring | +3 Harris |
| Running for governor | +7 Trump |
| Running for governor | +3 Trump |
| Retiring | +14 Trump |
| Retiring | +52 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +15 Trump |
| Running for governor | +20 Trump |
 Brownley D Calif. 26 (Redrawn) | Retiring | +15 Harris |
| Retiring | +15 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +16 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +21 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +6 Harris |
 Crockett D Texas 30 (Redrawn) | Ran for Senate | +47 Harris |
| Retiring | +65 Harris |
 Doggett D Texas 37 (Redrawn) | Retiring | +56 Harris |
| Running for governor | +29 Trump |
| Retiring | +18 Trump |
| Retiring | +77 Harris |
| Running for governor | +31 Trump |
| Retiring | +28 Harris |
 Gonzales R Texas 23 (Redrawn) | Resigned | +15 Trump |
| Retiring | +27 Trump |
| Resigned | +22 Trump |
| Resigned | +37 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +46 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +22 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +10 Trump |
| Retiring | +33 Harris |
 Hunt R Texas 38 (Redrawn) | Running for Senate | +21 Trump |
| Running for governor | +29 Trump |
| Ran for Senate | +33 Harris |
| Ran for Senate | +7 Harris |
| Running for Senate | +36 Trump |
| Retiring | +23 Trump |
 Luttrell R Texas 8 (Redrawn) | Retiring | +28 Trump |
| Running for governor | +13 Trump |
 McCaul R Texas 10 (Redrawn) | Retiring | +23 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +55 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +21 Harris |
| Retiring | +64 Harris |
 Nehls R Texas 22 (Redrawn) | Retiring | +22 Trump |
| Retiring | +21 Trump |
| Running for governor | +23 Trump |
| Retiring | +33 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +2 Harris |
| Retiring | +68 Harris |
| Running for governor | +35 Trump |
| Running for state attorney general | +22 Trump |
| Retiring | +37 Harris |
| Ran for governor | +9 Harris |
| Ran for governor | +21 Trump |
| Running for Senate | +16 Harris |
 Swalwell D Calif. 14 (Redrawn) | Resigned | +35 Harris |
| Running for governor | +23 Trump |
 Veasey D Texas 33 (Redrawn) | Ran for county judge | +33 Harris |
| Retiring | +46 Harris |
| Appointed National Security Advisor | +30 Trump |
| Retiring | +24 Harris |
| Retiring | +12 Trump |
Notes: Seats shown as competitive or likely to flip are rated by Cook Political Report as “tossups,” “lean” or “likely” to be the opposing party of its current member. 2024 presidential margins are for redrawn districts in states that have passed new maps.
Other departures this cycle
|
| Died | Walkinshaw D |
 Crenshaw R Texas 2 (Redrawn) | Lost primary | — |
| Died | Grijalva D |
 LaMalfa R Calif. 1 (Redrawn) | Died | Special election
on Aug. 4, 2026 |
 Turner D Texas 18 (Redrawn) | Died | Menefee D |
Sources
U.S. House of Representatives (departures from current cycle); United States Congress (historical departures); New York Times analysis and the Downballot (2024 presidential election margins); and Cook Political Report Race Ratings.
Notes
Data is as of April 15, 2026.
Counts for the first three charts include House members who announced departures but finished their terms and those who resigned or were expelled midterm and were or will be replaced before the general election of that cycle. The charts exclude those who died midterm, lost their primaries and those who ran for a seat in a different district than the one they had been representing.
Eric Swalwell announced his departure to run for California governor on Nov. 20, 2025 and announced his resignation on April 13, 2026 after sexual assault accusations. Tony Gonzales announced his decision not to run for re-election on March 5, 2026 after sexual assault allegations and announced his resignation on April 13, 2026. Both former members are shown in the table above as “Resigned.”