Major House personalities head for the door as 2026 rolls around, leaving many wondering how the lower chamber will change with these shifts.
The House Republican caucus comprises many different factions that bring their own concerns to the table, often making Speaker Mike Johnson’s job the “hardest job in Washington” when aiming to appease each of these factions, given his ultra-slim majority. Many key leaders in each faction will head for their next adventure, leaving a gap for new voices.
Many House members have planned to leave Congress by launching bids for higher office in 2026 or retiring. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), who announced his gubernatorial bid earlier this year, told the Washington Examiner that he expects more members to quit as the midterm elections approach.
“There’s a lot of institutional knowledge leaving, that’s never a good thing for the institution,” Feenstra said. “However, I do believe in term limits that people should serve a total of 12 years in the House and so those that are leaving after that, I think that’s a good thing to bring in new blood is always good.”
Many House members eye the upper chamber, with Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY), Mike Collins (R-GA), Ashley Hinson, Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Barry Moore (R-AL) are seeking a Senate seat. Others are throwing their hats into a gubernatorial race, as Reps. John Rose (R-TN) and John James (R-MI) look to move back home.
Two major fiscal hawks are heading for the door as Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Chip Roy (R-TX) eye higher offices, as both sit on the powerful House Rules Committee. Norman launched his gubernatorial bid in South Carolina earlier this year, as Roy has been campaigning to be Texas’s next attorney general. Both members are known to hold their votes during many large, contentious votes in an effort to get more spending cuts.
“I just think a lot of us who have been up here trying to fight the fight for the American people, there’s reasons for us to take that fight home to our states,” Roy told the Washington Examiner. “Whether you’re talking about Andy Biggs or Byron Donalds or myself or Ralph Norman or others that are running statewide.”
“We recognize that a lot of the decisions that affect the people we represent are back home in our states, and there’s a lot more work left to be done in Texas and the other states and to carry this whole fight forward,” he continued.
Another fiscal hawk, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), has entered what is considered a “toss-up” race to be Arizona’s next governor.
One of the first House members to jump into a gubernatorial race was Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is vying to succeed Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who ran for president in 2024 and is term-limited come 2026 in a seat that is considered “solid Republican.”
Longtime foreign policy hawk, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), is slated for retirement after two decades in Congress. McCaul is one of the most influential voices from the massive Texas delegation, leaving large shoes to fill. The Texas Republican was term-limited in chairing the committees he led, saying that this is the right time to leave. McCaul is not the only Texas Republican heading for retirement; Rep. Morgan Luttrell announced his retirement from Congress after just two terms.
South Carolina is shaping up to be a competitive governor’s race as Norman and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) threw their hat in the ring. Norman told the Washington Examiner he is confident he could beat Mace.
“Competition is good, you give people a choice,” Norman said earlier this year. “That’s what made the country great, and I love the competitive part.”
Mace is a major personality in the House, often ruffling the feathers of both sides of the aisle as she is known to target members regardless of their party. This week, Mace aimed to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for comments she made about the late Charlie Kirk, but four of her colleagues ultimately tanked the resolution. The South Carolina Republican then called out her four colleagues on social media.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is teasing her gubernatorial run against Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) after her nomination for President Donald Trump’s Cabinet was pulled over the slim House majority. The New York Republican is a close ally of Trump and has taken jabs at Hochul in recent months.
On the other end of the caucus, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) jumped into the race earlier this year, after hinting for months, to be the next governor of South Dakota, as the sitting Gov. Larry Rhoden (R-SD) has yet to announce his future plans. Johnson is a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, often serving as a moderate voice to leadership.
“Washington functions better when both sides work together on policies that will benefit the American people,” Johnson said on the Problem Solvers Caucus website. “I’m proud to be a part of a team focused on bridging divides rather than encouraging them.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) also heads for retirement after winning his ultra-competitive seat five cycles in a row. He held on to his Nebraska seat, anchored to the blue city of Omaha, last year even as Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by nearly 5 points. Each cycle, he is consistently rated as one of the most endangered House Republicans. The Nebraska Republican credited his success to a “killer instinct” last month in an interview with the Washington Examiner.
“I just wasn’t sure I was going to have the intensity for a sixth run,” he said.
Bacon’s retirement instantly makes his district more of a pickup opportunity for Democrats, who must net just three seats to retake control of the House next year. It could also mean one fewer centrist Republican in a chamber that continues to become more polarized.
As these key players and personalities head for the door, “new blood” will take their seats, bringing their own personality to the lower chamber. House Democrats also face a major wave of retirements and turnover for higher offices following the party’s major loss in 2024, which will lead to a shake-up in the makeup of both sides of the aisle in the House. Although Democrats also face members leaving, only 11 Democrats are leaving now compared to the 17 Republicans.
But these numbers are not set in stone. More retirements and campaigns are expected before the 119th Congress comes to a close. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) is weighing a Senate bid to run against incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) would be under consideration for Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Senate seat should Blackburn become governor.
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“These are not supposed to be permanent jobs,” Roy told the Washington Examiner. “You’re not supposed to come up here for 40 years, notwithstanding the fact people do. I think you come up here, you serve and go back home, that’s the way it was designed, so I’m good with it. New blood is good.
“I think that will carry forward the fight up here, with or without me or anyone else,” he concluded.