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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
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.)
Blumenauer announced he will not run for reelection after serving Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District for 27 years.
Blumenauer, 75, said it was a “difficult decision” to not run for reelection, telling Willamette Week in Portland that he is leaving Congress “to be more present” in his community.
“I’m not certain that two more years in Congress in this climate is the best way to deal with things I care about,” Blumenauer told the publication prior to his formal announcement.
His district, which includes north Portland and much of its southeast, is a solidly Democratic district that has a Cook Political Report rating of D+22, an indication the seat is likely to stay in Democratic hands in 2024.
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. 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. John Sarbanes (Md.)
Sarbanes announced in October he will not run for reelection in 2024, saying 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. It was previously held by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
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 announced in September she 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, the Virginia Democrat said her diagnosis changed to progressive supranuclear palsy, which she described as “Parkinson’s on steroids.”
“I’m heartbroken to have to give up something I have loved after so many years of serving my community,” Wexton said in a statement. “But taking into consideration the prognosis for my health over the coming years, I have made the decision not to seek reelection once my term is complete and instead spend my valued time with Andrew, our boys, and my friends and loved ones.”
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
Rep. Colin Allred (Texas)
Allred announced earlier this year 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.
Allred’s Senate bid could be an uphill challenge, however, 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.”
In her announcement for her Senate bid in June, Blunt Rochester pointed to several themes used by Democrats in 2022, including abortion and threats to democracy during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
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.
Announcing his Senate bid last January, 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.
“A group of politicians in North Carolina just redrew my congressional district to take me out. They’re going to replace me with one of their political allies,” Jackson said when announcing his decision in October, per The Associated Press. “That’s political corruption. And I’ve got news for them. I’m running for attorney general, and I’m going to use that job to go after political corruption.”
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) announced earlier this year that he would be running for the state’s governorship.
Rep. Andy Kim (N.J.)
Kim announced in September 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 congressional member 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.”
“I believe more than ever that New Jersey needs hard working, trustworthy leaders focused on the common good and injecting some integrity and civility back into our politics,” Kim wrote in his announcement.
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. Katie Porter (Calif.)
Porter also has eyes on replacing Feinstein. She announced in January that she would run for the open Senate seat in deep-blue California.
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 race last January 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.) earlier this year, just months after she was reelected to a third term in the 2022 midterm elections.
Slotkin, 47, said the Senate needs “a new generation of leaders that thinks differently, works harder, and never forgets that we are public servants.”
Slotkin represents Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, which is forecast to be a “toss up” race.
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 said he is running for Senate “because the clock is ticking,” pointing to issues like drug overdoses, mental illness and the high incarcerate rate of Black people in the U.S.
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:
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.
“Our nation is on a collision course with reality and a steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truth, is the only way forward,” he said. “Too many Republican leaders are lying to America, claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system.”
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. 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 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.
“It’s time for the next generation to step up and take the mantle and be a strong and fierce representative for the people,” Granger said.
Granger’s district in north Texas tends to lean conservative and is expected to remain in Republican control in the 2024 election.
Rep. Debbie Lesko (Ariz.)
Lesko said she won’t run for reelection because “Washington, D.C. is broken.”
Lesko, 64, said she also wants to spend more time with her family.
“Spending, on average, three weeks out of every month away from my family, and traveling back and forth to Washington, D.C. almost every weekend is difficult,” she wrote in a statement.
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. Victoria Spartz (Ind.)
Spartz will retire from her seat representing Indiana’s 5th District.
“I won a lot of tough battles for the people and will work hard to win a few more in the next two years. However, being a working mom is tough and I need to spend more time with my two high school girls back home, so I will not run for any office in 2024,” Spartz wrote in her announcement last February.
The Ukrainian-born lawmaker will depart from Congress after only two terms. She had replaced former Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) Despite speculation, Spartz has passed on a bid for Indiana’s open Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Mike Braun (R).
Spartz’s retirement means an open race in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, which the Cook Political Report forecasts will be “solid Republican.”
Republicans seeking other offices:
Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.)
Banks is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Braun, who is running for governor in the Hoosier State.
In his announcement last January, Banks said, “We NEED conservatives in Washington who aren’t afraid to fight Biden’s radical agenda … That’s why I am running to represent our great state of Indiana in the United States Senate.”
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.
“For several many other reasons, it just seemed after careful deliberation by Jo, my wife, and me over the course of many months, we decided this is the right thing for me to do to come back to North Carolina,” he said on WBT Radio’s podcast, “Good Morning BT with Bo Thompson & Beth Troutman” in October.
Bishop, 59, was elected to Congress in 2019 and has come out as 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. 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.
Adam Schiff
Alex Mooney
Andy Kim
Barbara Lee
Colin Allred
Dan Bishop
David Trone
Debbie Lesko
Earl Blumenauer
Elissa Slotkin
Grace Napolitano
House Democrats
House GOP
Jeff Jackson
Jennifer Wexton
Jim Banks
John Sarbanes
Katie Porter
Kay Granger
Ken Buck
Lisa Blunt Rochester
Ron Wyden
Ruben Gallego
Victoria Spartz
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