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List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2016
This page lists the incumbent members of the 114th U.S. Congress who did not run for re-election in the 2016 Congressional elections (both U.S. Senate and U.S. House).
For a list of incumbents that did not seek re-election in 2018, click here.
U.S. Senate members
3 Democrats
2 Republicans
| Name: | Party: | Current office: |
|---|---|---|
| Barbara Boxer |  Democratic
| California |
| Barbara Mikulski | Democratic
| Maryland |
| Dan Coats |  Republican
| Director of National Intelligence |
| David Vitter | Republican
| Louisiana |
| Harry Reid | Democratic
| Nevada |
U.S. House members
Forty members of the U.S. House did not seek re-election to that chamber in November 2016. Twenty-six of those who did not seek re-election to the U.S. House retired altogether from office, while 14 of those who did not seek re-election to the U.S. House instead sought a different office.
Incumbents who retired from public office
Twenty-six U.S. House incumbents retired from public office rather than seek re-election in November 2016.
- 7 Democrats
- 19 Republicans
| Name: | Party: | Current office: |
|---|---|---|
| Ander Crenshaw | Republican
| Florida, District 4 |
| Candice Miller | Republican
| Michigan, District 10 |
| Charles B. Rangel | Democratic
| New York, District 13 |
| Chris Gibson | Republican
| New York, District 19 |
| Curt Clawson | Republican
| Florida, District 19 |
| Cynthia Lummis | Republican
| U.S. House, Wyoming |
| Dan Benishek | Republican
| Michigan, District 1 |
| Gwen Graham | Democratic
| Florida, District 2 |
| Jeff Miller | Republican
| Florida, District 1 |
| Jim McDermott | Democratic
| Washington, District 7 |
| John Kline | Republican
| Minnesota, District 2 |
| Joseph R. Pitts | Republican
| Pennsylvania, District 16 |
| Lois Capps | Democratic
| California, District 24 |
| Lynn A. Westmoreland | Republican
| Georgia, District 3 |
| Matt Salmon | Republican
| Arizona, District 5 |
| Michael G. Fitzpatrick | Republican
| Pennsylvania, District 8 |
| Randy Neugebauer | Republican
| Texas, District 19 |
| Reid Ribble | Republican
| Wisconsin, District 8 |
| Richard L. Hanna | Republican
| New York, District 22 |
| Richard B. Nugent | Republican
| Florida, District 11 |
| Robert Hurt | Republican
| Virginia, District 5 |
| Rubén Hinojosa | Democratic
| Texas, District 15 |
| Sam Farr | Democratic
| California, District 20 |
| Scott Rigell | Republican
| Virginia, District 2 |
| Stephen Lee Fincher | Republican
| Tennessee |
| Steve Israel | Democratic
| New York, District 3 |
Incumbents who sought other offices
Fourteen U.S. House incumbents did not seek re-election to the U.S. House in November 2016. They instead sought election to another office in 2016.
U.S. House members who sought a seat in the U.S. Senate
7 Democrats. Five of these Democrats failed in their effort to gain a seat in the U.S. Senate while two (Chris Van Hollen and Tammy Duckworth) succeeded.
5 Republicans. Four of these Republicans failed, while one (Todd Young) succeeded.
| Name: | Party: | Current office: |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Grayson | Democratic
| Florida, District 11 |
| Ann Kirkpatrick | Democratic
| Arizona, District 2 |
| Charles Boustany Jr. | Republican
| Louisiana, District 3 |
| Chris Van Hollen | Democratic
| Maryland |
| Donna Edwards | Democratic
| Maryland, District 4 |
| Joe Heck | Republican
| Nevada, District 3 |
| John Fleming | Republican
| Louisiana, District 4 |
| Loretta Sanchez | Democratic
| California, District 46 |
| Marlin A. Stutzman | Republican
| Indiana, District 3 |
| Patrick Murphy | Democratic
| Florida, District 18 |
| Tammy Duckworth | Democratic
| Illinois |
| Todd C. Young | Republican
| Indiana |
U.S. House members who sought the office of Governor
1 Democrat. John Carney Jr. sought and was elected to the office of Governor of Delaware.
0 Republicans
| Name: | Party: | Current office: |
|---|---|---|
| John C. Carney Jr. | Democratic
| Governor of Delaware |
U.S. House members who sought a different office
1 Democrat. Janice Hahn was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
0 Republicans.
| Name: | Party: | Current office: |
|---|---|---|
| Janice Hahn | Nonpartisan | Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, District 4 |
Congressional incumbents who left office early
Seven members of the 114th United States Congress, five Republican and two Democratic members of the U.S. House, did not complete their term.
| Name: | Party: | Office: |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Schock | Republican
| U.S. House, Illinois, District 18 |
| Alan Nunnelee | Republican
| U.S. House, Mississippi, District 1 |
| Chaka Fattah | Democratic
| U.S. House, Pennsylvania, District 2 |
| Ed Whitfield | Republican
| U.S. House, Kentucky, District 1 |
| John A. Boehner | Republican
| U.S. House, Ohio, District 8 |
| Mark Takai | Democratic
| U.S. House, Hawaii, District 1 |
| Michael Grimm | Republican
| U.S. House, New York, District 11 |
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.
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.
See also
- ↑ Figure includes Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).
