Results of federal elected officials seeking other offices, 2018-present
This page covers the number of federal elected officials who sought other offices in each election since 2018 and their success rates. It includes information on U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators. On this page, you will find overview figures as well as summaries of and links to each individual analysis.
Click a year below to read analysis from that year:
Overview
The chart below shows the number of U.S. Representatives who sought election to other offices in each even-year election since 2018.
The chart below shows the success rate of U.S. Representatives who ran for another office in even year elections since 2018 by party.
The table below lists the U.S. House members who ran for another office in 2024, the office they sought, and the outcome of that election.
Click here to read more from the 2024 analysis.
2022
In 2022, seventeen members of the U.S. House of Representatives sought election to other offices. Five (29%) of them won election to those positions.
No members of the U.S. Senate sought other offices in 2022. That was a decrease from 2020, when eight Senators sought to become the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States.
The table below lists the U.S. House members who ran for another office in 2022, the office they sought, and the outcome of that election.
Click here to read more from the 2022 analysis.
2020
In 2020, fourteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives and eight members of the U.S. Senate sought election to other offices. Five (23%) of them won election to those positions.
Seven of the House members were Republicans. Of those, three (43%) won election, one (14%) lost in the general election, two (28%) lost in the primary, and one (14%) withdrew before the primary. Among the seven Democratic House members, two (28%) won election, four (57%) lost in the presidential primaries, and one (14%) lost in the primary for a statewide office.
The table below lists the U.S. House members who ran for another office in 2020, and the outcome of that election.
| Members of U.S. House who ran for another office in 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative | Party | Previous office | Office sought in 2020 | Result | |||||
| Ben Ray Luján |  Democratic |
New Mexico, District 3 | U.S. Senate New Mexico | Won general election | |||||
| Bradley Byrne |  Republican |
Alabama, District 1 | U.S. Senate Alabama | Lost primary | |||||
| Denny Heck | Democratic |
Washington, District 10 | Lieutenant Governor of Washington | Won general election | |||||
| Doug Collins | Republican |
Georgia, District 9 | U.S. Senate Georgia | Lost general election | |||||
| Eric Swalwell | Democratic |
California, District 15 | President of the United States | Lost | |||||
| Greg Gianforte | Republican |
Montana At-large District | Governor of Montana | Won general election | |||||
| Greg Steube | Republican |
Florida, District 17 | Florida State Senate District 23 | Withdrew before primary | |||||
| Joseph Kennedy III | Democratic |
Massachusetts, District 4 | U.S. Senate Massachusetts | Lost primary | |||||
| Paul Cook | Republican |
California, District 8 | San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors District 1 | Won | |||||
| Rob Bishop | Republican |
Utah, District 1 | Lieutenant Governor of Utah | Lost primary | |||||
| Roger Marshall | Republican |
Kansas, District 1 | U.S. Senate Kansas | Won general election | |||||
| Seth Moulton | Democratic |
Massachusetts, District 6 | President of the United States | Lost | |||||
| Tim Ryan | Democratic |
Ohio, District 13 | President of the United States | Lost | |||||
| Tulsi Gabbard | Democratic |
Hawaii, District 2 | President of the United States | Lost | |||||
Click here to read more from the 2020 analysis.
2018
Twenty-one members of the U.S. House of Representatives sought election to statewide office in 2018. Nine (43%) of them won election to those positions.
- Nine (43%) won the general election for statewide office.
- Five (24%) were their party's nominee for the office sought, but lost in the general election.
- Seven (33%) were defeated in their party's primary for statewide office.
- Ten of these House members were Democrats. Of those, six (60%) won election to statewide office, one (10%) of them lost in the general election, and three (30%) were defeated in the primary.
- Among the eleven Republican House members in this group, three (27%) won their race, four (36%) lost in the general election, and four (36%) lost in the primary.
The table below lists the U.S. House members who ran for another office in 2018, and the outcome of that election.
| Members of U.S. House who ran for another office in 2018 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative | Party | Previous office | Office sought in 2018 | Result | |||||
| Lou Barletta | Republican |
Pennsylvania, District 11 | U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania | Lost general election | |||||
| Diane Black | Republican |
Tennessee, District 6 | Governor, Tennessee | Lost primary | |||||
| Marsha Blackburn | Republican |
Tennessee, District 7 | U.S. Senate, Tennessee | Won general election | |||||
| Kevin Cramer | Republican |
North Dakota, At-Large District | U.S. Senate, North Dakota | Won general election | |||||
| Keith Ellison | Democratic |
Minnesota, District 5 | Attorney general, Minnesota | Won general election | |||||
| Michelle Lujan Grisham | Democratic |
New Mexico, District 1 | Governor, New Mexico | Won general election | |||||
| Colleen Hanabusa | Democratic |
Hawaii, District 1 | Governor, Hawaii | Lost primary | |||||
| Raul Labrador | Republican |
Idaho, District 1 | Governor, Idaho | Lost primary | |||||
| Sean Maloney | Democratic |
New York, District 18 | Attorney general, New York | Lost primary | |||||
| Martha McSally | Republican |
Arizona, District 2 | U.S. Senate, Arizona | Lost general election | |||||
| Luke Messer | Republican |
Indiana, District 6 | U.S. Senate, Indiana | Lost primary | |||||
| Kristi Noem | Republican |
South Dakota, At-Large District | Governor, South Dakota | Won general election | |||||
| Rick Nolan | Democratic |
Minnesota, District 8 | Lieutenant Governor, Minnesota | Lost primary | |||||
| Beto O'Rourke | Democratic |
Texas, District 16 | U.S. Senate, Texas | Lost general election | |||||
| Steve Pearce | Republican |
New Mexico, District 2 | Governor, New Mexico | Lost general election | |||||
| Jared Polis | Democratic |
Colorado, District 2 | Governor, Colorado | Won general election | |||||
| Jim Renacci | Republican |
Ohio, District 16 | U.S. Senate, Ohio | Lost general election | |||||
| Todd Rokita | Republican |
Indiana, District 4 | U.S. Senate, Indiana | Lost primary | |||||
| Jacky Rosen | Democratic |
Nevada, District 3 | U.S. Senate, Nevada | Won general election | |||||
| Kyrsten Sinema | Democratic |
Arizona, District 9 | U.S. Senate, Arizona | Won general election | |||||
| Tim Walz | Democratic |
Minnesota, District 1 | Governor, Minnesota | Won general election | |||||
Click here to read more from the 2018 analysis.
See also
- Congressional Analysis Archive
- Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
