Daily Brew: November 12, 2025
Welcome to the Wednesday, Nov. 12, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Forty-five members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026—the most at this point since 2018
- Maine rejects Question 1 by the widest margin for a voter ID proposal since at least 2004
- President Donald Trump has issued 142 pardons in second term so far
Forty-five members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026—the most at this point since 2018
Forty-five members of Congress—37 representatives and eight senators—have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. That’s the most retirement announcements at this point in an election cycle since 2018.
Since our Oct. 22 update, six representatives have announced that they will not seek re-election to the U.S. House in 2026:
- Rep. Jody Arrington (R-Texas) announced on Nov. 11 that he is retiring from public office.
- Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) announced on Nov. 10 that she is retiring from public office.
- Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) announced on Nov. 7 that she will run for governor of New York.
- Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced on Nov. 6 that she is retiring from public office.
- Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-Ill.) announced on Nov. 5 that he is retiring from public office.
- Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) announced on Nov. 5 that he is retiring from public office.
U.S. House of Representatives
Of the 37 representatives—15 Democrats and 22 Republicans—who are not seeking re-election:
- Thirteen—nine Democrats and four Republicans—are retiring from public office.
- Twelve—six Democrats and six Republicans—are running for the U.S. Senate.
- Eleven—all Republicans—are running for governor.
- One Republican is running for Texas attorney general.
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were 25 retirement announcements in 2024, 24 in 2022, 27 in 2020, and 31 in 2018.
Looking at the last time those 37 representatives ran in their districts in 2024, five of them—two Democrats and three Republicans—won by 10 percentage points or less. Three of five representatives—Golden, Don Bacon (R), and David Schweikert (R)—won by less than five percentage points.
U.S. Senate
Of the eight senators who are not seeking re-election, four are Democrats and four are Republicans. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) are retiring from public office. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is running for governor of Alabama.
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were seven retirement announcements in 2024, six in 2022, four in 2020, and two in 2018.
Looking at the last time those eight senators ran for their seats in 2020, four of them—two Democrats and two Republicans—won by 10 percentage points or less. Two of five senators—Tillis and Peters—won by less than five percentage points.
Between January 2011 and November 2025, 386 members of the U.S. Senate and House announced they would not seek re-election. The 69 retirement announcements in January is the most of any month. June had the fewest at 16.
Click here to read more about members of the U.S. Senate who are not seeking re-election in 2026, and here for more about members of the U.S. House who are not seeking re-election in 2026.
Maine voters reject Question 1 by the widest margin for a voter ID proposal since at least 2004
On Nov. 4, Maine voters defeated Maine Question 1 64.1% to 35.9%. The measure proposed to:
- Require photo identification for in-person and absentee voting.
- Require voters to complete an identification envelope for absentee voting.
- Allow a person’s absentee ballot to be challenged based on a signature that does not match the signature on the voter’s registration record.
- Repeal language allowing disabled and senior voters (65 years of age or older) to receive absentee ballots without submitting a separate request for each election.
- Prohibit municipalities from including prepaid postage on absentee ballots.
- Limit each local government to one ballot drop box, among other changes.
Voters defeated Question 1 by the largest margin of the three ballot measures related to voter ID that voters have defeated from 2004 through 2025. Voters rejected measures in Arizona (2022) and Minnesota (2012) by 0.8 and 7.6 percentage points, respectively.
Voters have decided on 11 ballot measures in ten states related to voter ID in that time, approving eight of them and defeating three. Of the eight ballot measures that voters approved:
- The measures in North Carolina (2018) and Arkansas (2018) passed by the widest margin—59 percentage points each.
- The measure in Arizona (2004) passed by the narrowest margin—11.2 percentage points.
Maine Question 1 differed from most previous statewide voter ID measures because it combined voter ID provisions with broader changes to absentee voting, ballot collection, and drop box policies.
The Maine Wire’s Steve Robinson said that Question 1 was rejected, in part, because "the proposed language combined complex absentee ballot rules with simple Voter ID, a tactical blunder. This let Democrats frame the No campaign as 'saving absentee voting,' weakening support for a popular election integrity measure. Donors saw the flaw, and Yes on One lacked funding."
In 2026, two other states will decide on measures requiring voters to present photo identification. Nevada voters will decide on Question 7. In Nevada, initiated constitutional amendments need to be approved in two even-numbered election years. Voters approved Question 7 73% to 27% in 2024. It must be approved again in 2026 to take effect. Additionally, North Carolina voters will decide on a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.
Heading into November, 36 states required voters to present identification to vote at the polls on Election Day.
Click here to read more about Maine Question 1.
President Donald Trump has issued 142 pardons in second term so far
U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin said that on Nov. 7 President Donald Trump (R) issued a mass pardon to individuals for conduct related to support for “any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors, whether or not recognized by any State or State official” during the 2020 presidential election, and for conduct to “expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities” in the 2020 presidential election. In addition to the mass pardon, Trump named 77 people to whom the pardon would apply, including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and attorneys Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and John Eastman. The pardon document notes that it does not apply to Trump himself.
As of Nov. 9, Trump has issued 142 specific pardons so far during his second term, which is almost as many as he issued throughout the entirety of his first term (143). Additionally, Trump has issued 28 commutations thus far during his second term.
These figures do not include individuals unnamed in mass pardons, of which Trump has issued two so far in his second term. On his first day in office, Trump issued a mass pardon to individuals who were convicted of offenses related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which included at least 1,500 individuals, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. Constitution, in Article II, Section 2, grants the president the power of executive clemency. Executive clemency includes the power to pardon, in which the president overturns a federal conviction and restores “an individual to the state of innocence that existed before the conviction.” Executive clemency also includes the power of commutation, which allows a president to shorten or reduce a federal prison sentence. The Constitution imposes two major limits on the power of executive clemency. The first is that clemency is limited to federal offenses. The president cannot pardon individuals for civil or state offenses. The second is that the president may not use this power to intervene in impeachment proceedings.
As of Nov. 9, the annual average number of pardons was 118.3, while the annual average number of commutations was 88.1. Between fiscal years 1902 and 2025, Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) issued, on average, more pardons than any other president (234.9 per year). During this timeframe, Lyndon Johnson (D) was the only president to issue no pardons or commutations during his final fiscal year in office.
Click here to learn more about executive clemencies and presidential pardons.
