As the 2024 election cycle approaches, several House Democrats have decided to hang up their political hats and retire from Congress.
This trend of departures could impact the Democratic Party's strategy and its ability to maintain or expand its influence in the House of Representatives. With a mix of veteran lawmakers and newer faces stepping aside, some citing re-districting as making their re-election chances slimmer, the party faces the challenge of securing capable successors who can uphold their legislative agendas and appeal to an increasingly diverse electorate.
Using data from ballotpedia.org, Newsweek has compiled a list of House Democrats who have announced they are not seeking re-election in November, either through retirement or plans to seek another public office.
The list will be updated as and when new announcements are made.
Departed Congress Early
- Rep. Brian Higgins, New York's 26th District
- Rep. David Cicilline, Rhode Island's 1st District
Additionally, Rep. Donald McEachin of Virginia died shortly after winning re-election in November 2022 and Rep. Donald Payne, Jr of New Jersey died on April 24 after being hospitalized earlier in the month.
Retiring from Public Office
- Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, New Hampshire's 2nd District
- Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland's 2nd District
- Rep. Wiley Nickel, North Carolina's 13th District
- Rep. Kathy Manning, North Carolina's 6th District
- Rep. Anna Eshoo, California's 16th District
- Rep. Dan Kildee, Michigan's 8th District
- Rep. Derek Kilmer, Washington's 6th District
- Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Oregon's 3rd District
- Rep. John Sarbanes, Maryland's 3rd District
- Rep. Jennifer Wexton, Virginia's 10th District
- Rep. Grace Napolitano, California's 31st District
Running for Senate
- Rep. Andy Kim, New Jersey's 3rd District
- Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware's District-at-Large
- Rep. David Trone, Maryland's 6th District
- Rep. Colin Allred, Texas's 32nd District
- Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Michigan's 7th District
- Rep. Barbara Lee, California's 12th District
- Rep. Adam Schiff, California's 30th District
- Rep. Ruben Gallego, Arizona's 3rd District
- Rep. Katie Porter, California's 47th District
Additionally, Virginia's Abigail Spanberger is running for governor and Jeff Jackson is aiming to be North Carolina's next attorney general.
Dean Phillips of Minnesota announced he wouldn't seek re-election in favor of a quixotic bid for president. He suspended that campaign in March.
What This Means for the Democratic Party
The majority of those retiring from public office are 60 or over, including oldest House member Grace Napolitano (87), potentially opening their seats up to a younger generation of lawmakers.
Three California representatives decided to forgo re-election to run for the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein. Adam Schiff advanced to the general election that will take place in November, proving more popular than the younger and more left-wing Katie Porter.
Most election forecasts favor the Democrats taking back control of the House in November. Poll-averaging website racetothewh.com currently gives the party a 56.7 percent chance of winning the majority.
Newsweek has also compiled a list of Republican House members not seeking re-election this year, which can be read here.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Daniel Orton is an editor on the live news team at Newsweek, based in London, UK. He was previously Video ... Read more
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