US House Chaos Drives Record Exodus to Other Political Pursuits

A retirement wave is sweeping the House, with more lawmakers opting to run for other offices than any political cycle in more than three decades.

Nineteen Republicans and eight Democrats are exiting the House to run for governor, Senate, or other political roles in November. Departing members cited a number of factors, including rare opportunities to run for a certain office or a calling to serve statewide.

But other current and former lawmakers say it’s a stark trend on the heels of a particularly chaotic year in the House. The dynamic follows a drama-ridden stretch in what some see as a weakened chamber that generates unyielding gridlock and, according to some lawmakers, an overly obsequious approach to President Donald Trump.

“I can do more there as governor than I can here in Congress, because Congress is broken,” said GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who’s running for governor of her home state of South Carolina.

She’s not alone: the Republicans Mace will face in the primary include her House colleague Rep. Ralph Norman. The retirement trend is particularly stark among their party compared to Democrats.

Eleven House members are running to be governor of their respective states. That number doesn’t include former Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D), who was elected as New Jersey’s governor last year, or Rep. Elise Stefanik (R), who launched and then dropped a bid to be governor of New York. Fifteen House lawmakers are running for Senate, some of them in competitive primaries against each other, and high-profile conservative Rep. Chip Roy is running to be Texas’ attorney general.

“These are people who still want to make a difference and aren’t getting run out of politics, or just sick and tired of politics,” said former Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.), who has researched ways to improve Congress for lawmakers and reduce gridlock. “They’re sick and tired of the House.”

The House’s 15 Senate candidates have cited a wish to represent their full states, as opposed to a smaller district, and to influence decisionmaking as members of a 100-person body. The Senate’s perks also include longer six-year terms. The Senate’s legislative filibuster, which requires 60 votes for most legislation, gives members of the minority some leverage in negotiating with the majority.

“They know they’re going to have a more greater opportunity to have a legislative impact,” Lipinski said.

Limited Floor Action

The first year of the 119th Congress was unusual in the House.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) kept lawmakers away from DC for the bulk of a historic 43-day shutdown late last year, frustrating some members who wanted to get things done.

Johnson has also sought to limit floor votes on issues like files related to late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein or President Donald Trump’s tariffs — topics where some House Republicans would be inclined to break with the president. Democrats have accused congressional Republicans of acquiescing to the administration instead of exercising their Article 1 authorities.

A handful of House Republicans rebelled against leadership and Trump last week by joining with Democrats to force a vote rebuking his tariffs. The speaker had held off such a vote throughout 2025.

“I suspect that there’s a lot of my former colleagues that are just tired of not having a rightful place at the table to decide important issues like trade,” said former Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who retired in 2023. “Life is short, and Congress has not taken its rightful place.”

The office-seekers make up just over half of the 53 House members heading for the exits in 2026. Some of the chamber’s longest-serving and most prominent members are leaving after this year, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

“Very frankly, I’m retiring because I can’t guarantee” in two years, at age 88, “that I can function effectively,” Hoyer said.

Still, other retirees are much younger lawmakers, including 43-year-old Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and 62-year-old Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), two of the most moderate members in the House.

Maeve Sheehey/Bloomberg Government

Downsides of DC

Golden wrote an op-ed late last year attributing his decision to issues like hyperpartisanship, gridlock, and threats of political violence against his family. Other members leaving cited the age-old wish to spend more time with their spouses and kids, who often live in their home districts, away from Washington.

Upton said he faced little criticism for raising his kids in DC — and in fact, the living arrangement spurred his son into championing his lacrosse team. “They don’t offer lacrosse in my hometown — it’s not even a sport,” Upton said.

Now, lawmakers fear political retribution for setting up permanent residence in Washington.

Hoyer said colleagues with children risk the political fate of former Rep. Joe Crowley, the New York congressman who was defeated by fellow Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Crowley faced attacks during the campaign for raising his kids in Northern Virginia instead of his Queens district.

“If you take your kids out, bring them here, you’re Joe Crowley,” Hoyer said.

One obvious perk of trading a House seat for a governorship is that governors actually live in their home states. Multiple gubernatorial candidates in the House said they felt more called to serve at home than in a faraway 435-person federal body.

“You do have members who feel that they can really provide leadership in their states or in their local communities,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican who has Trump’s endorsement for his Florida governor campaign.

Norman, who’s running against Mace and three other Republicans in the South Carolina primary, agreed.

“In my case, the state needed me more,” Norman said. “To have the opportunity to serve the state, it comes along once every eight years.”