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List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2014
This page lists the incumbent members of the 113th U.S. Congress who did not run for re-election in the 2014 Congress elections.
This page was updated as incumbents announced whether or not they would seek re-election in 2014.
U.S. Senate members
5 Democrats
2 Republicans
This list includes John Walsh of Montana who was appointed to the Senate in February 2014, but decided against seeking a full-term.
| Name: | Party: | Current office: |
|---|---|---|
| Carl Levin |  Democratic
| U.S. Senator, Michigan |
| Jay Rockefeller | Democratic
| West Virginia |
| John Walsh | Democratic
| Montana |
| Mike Johanns |  Republican
| Nebraska |
| Saxby Chambliss | Republican
| Georgia |
| Tim Johnson | Democratic
| South Dakota |
| Tom Harkin | Democratic
| U.S. Senator, Iowa |
U.S. House members
Of the 41 House members listed below, 13 left their current positions to run for the Senate in 2014.
- 16 Democrats
- 25 Republicans
Officials who left office early
The following members of the 113th U.S. Congress did not complete their term.
| Name: | Party: | Office: |
|---|---|---|
| C.W. Bill Young | Republican
| U.S. House, Florida, District 13 |
| Ed Markey | Democratic
| U.S. House, Massachusetts, District 5 |
| Eric Cantor | Republican
| U.S. House, Virginia, District 7 |
| Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | Democratic
| U.S. House, Illinois, District 2 |
| Jim DeMint | Republican
| U.S. Senate, South Carolina |
| Jo Ann Emerson | Republican
| U.S. House, Missouri, District 8 |
| Jo Bonner | Republican
| U.S. House, Alabama, District 1 |
| John Kerry | Democratic
| U.S. Senate, Massachusetts |
| Max Baucus | Democratic
| U.S. Senate, Montana |
| Melvin L. Watt | Democratic
| U.S. House, North Carolina, District 12 |
| Rob Andrews | Democratic
| U.S. House, New Jersey, District 1 |
| Rodney Alexander | Republican
| U.S. House, Louisiana, District 5 |
| Tim Scott | Republican
| U.S. House, South Carolina District 1 |
| Trey Radel | Republican
| U.S. House, Florida, District 19 |
Congressional retirements by month, 2011-2020
Between January 2011 and September 2025, Ballotpedia tracked 377 announcements from members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who announced they would not seek re-election. January had the highest number of members announcing they would not run for re-election at 69. Forty-seven of those took place during election years and 22 during odd-number years. The fewest announcements took place in June at 16. In June, 13 happened during off years and three during election years.
Hover over the bars in the chart below to see the number of even- and odd-year announcements by month.
November had the second-highest total announcements at 45. Five November announcements occurred during an election year and 40 occurred during an off year.
August saw the second-fewest announcements after June at 19. In August, all but one happened during off years.
Announcements by month and year
The following table shows the number of members who announced they would not run for re-election by month and by year. Click on a month to sort the table in ascending or descending order by that month.
Analysis
Historical comparison
The following table includes figures on Democratic and Republican members of Congress who either left office during their term or announced that they would not seek re-election for each election year since 2012.
| Outgoing members of Congress, 2012-2018 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Chamber | Democrats not seeking re-election | Republicans not seeking re-election | Total not seeking re-election | Democrats leaving office early | Republicans leaving office early | Total leaving office early |
| 2018 | |||||||
| U.S. Senate | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| U.S. House | 18 | 34 | 52 | 3 | 14 | 17 | |
| Total | 18 | 37 | 55 | 4 | 16 | 20 | |
| 2016 | |||||||
| U.S. Senate | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| U.S. House | 16 | 24 | 40 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
| Total | 19 | 26 | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | |
| 2014 | |||||||
| U.S. Senate | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |
| U.S. House | 16 | 25 | 41 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
| Total | 21 | 27 | 48 | 6 | 8 | 14 | |
| 2012 | |||||||
| U.S. Senate | 6 | 3 | 10[1] | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| U.S. House | 23 | 20 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Total | 29 | 23 | 53 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Retirements as a percentage of party caucus
The number of retirements in each party as a percentage of the party's total number of Congressional members illustrates the amount of turnover happening within a party in a given election cycle. The table below shows Congressional retirements as a percentage of each party's total caucus members immediately following the previous election.
| Retirements as percent of Democrat and Republican caucus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle | Total retiring incumbents | Retiring Democrats | Retiring Democrats as percentage of caucus | Retiring Republicans | Retiring Republicans as percentage of caucus |
| 2022 | 55 | 32 | 11.85% | 23 | 8.75% |
| 2020 | 40 | 10 | 3.57% | 29 | 11.46% |
| 2018 | 55 | 18 | 7.44% | 37 | 12.63% |
| 2016 | 45 | 19 | 8.12% | 26 | 8.64% |
| 2014 | 48 | 21 | 8.47% | 27 | 9.41% |
Prior election margins of victory
Retirements in districts with a narrow margin of victory (MOV) can indicate a potentially competitive election in the next cycle. Retirements from seats with a margin of victory of less than 10 percentage points in each election cycle included:
- Seven Democrats and three Republicans out of 56 total retirements in the 2022 cycle
- Seven Republicans out of 40 total retirements in the 2020 cycle
- Five Democrats and three Republicans out of 55 total retirements in the 2018 cycle
- Five Democrats and one Republican out of 45 total retirements in the 2016 cycle
- Five Democrats and Five Republicans out of 48 total retirements in the 2014 cycle
| Retirements in districts that had a MOV of 10 percentage points or less in the prior cycle, 2014-2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle | Total retiring incumbents | Retiring incumbents with MOV of <10% | Retiring Democrats with MOV of <10% | Retiring Republicans with MOV of <10% |
| 2022 | 55 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 2020 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2018 | 55 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 2016 | 45 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 2014 | 48 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
The average 2016 margin of victory of House incumbents not running for re-election in 2018 was 29.7 percent. By comparison, the average 2014 margin of victory of those House members who did not run for re-election in 2016 was 34.1 percent.
Ballotpedia noted the margin of victory in the previous election of U.S. House incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2018, as compared to those incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2016. This data is shown in the chart below. The average margin of victory in all U.S. House races in 2016 was 36.7 percent.
- Note: This data for this analysis includes six members who announced they were not running for re-election in the 2018 cycle prior to their resigning from the House of Representatives.
See also
- ↑ Figure includes Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).
