Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the former No. 3 Democrat and one of the oldest members of Congress, announced he will run for reelection in 2026.
“In a few minutes, I’m going to sign the paperwork that’s necessary in order to qualify for the Democratic nomination to run again,” Clyburn said Thursday at the South Carolina Democratic Party headquarters in Columbia.
Clyburn said he believes he is “very well equipped and healthy enough” to seek another term. Noting his upcoming 86th birthday, he said of his pursuit of reelection: “If I were not up to it, I would not do it.”
The South Carolina Democrat, who served as majority whip from 2007 to 2010 and again from 2019 to 2022, is taking the opposite approach from his fellow colleagues who stepped down from leadership. Ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who served as majority leader, announced in November 2025 and January, respectively, that they would pass the torch to a new generation.
This will be Clyburn’s 18th term if he wins reelection this fall, first coming to Capitol Hill after winning election to his state’s 6th District in 1992. Before rising through the leadership ranks, he led the Congressional Black Caucus from 1999 to 2001.
After the Democrats lost the House in 2022, Pelosi and Hoyer stepped down from their posts. Clyburn kept his position until 2024. This changing of the guard allowed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (D-CO) to step into leadership roles.
Clyburn’s decision to seek another term comes as younger Democrats in and outside the halls of Congress are demanding that older members retire and allow new talent to enter the party.
“This selfish decision does such a disservice to his district, to the Democratic Party, and to the country,” Amanda Litman, Democratic strategist and co-founder of progressive PAC Run for Something, said of Clyburn’s announcement. “There is an incredible bench of leaders in his community who could take the baton — I hope one or many of them primary him and make him defend this choice.”
Several elder Democrats, such as Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), opted to retire at the end of this term rather than face a competitive primary challenger. But Clyburn is among seven other Democrats and Republicans over 80 dismissing those calls and running for reelection in 2026.
Rep. David Scott (D-GA), 80, is in his 12th term and among the House lawmakers seeking reelection. He is facing 10 challengers in the Democratic primary, comprised of several younger candidates, but he is not retiring. Scott lost his position as ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee to Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), one of the earliest and successful pushes for generational change within the party.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) attempted to run to be the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, but pressure from Pelosi and other members, who were insistent on maintaining seniority, contributed to her loss in that race.
Seniority has advantages. Clyburn is the longest-serving Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Should Democrats take back the House in 2026, as they hope, Clyburn would become chairman of that panel and oversee funding for the Transportation Department under a Trump administration.
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Clyburn has so far not drawn any serious primary challengers for his current bid and may not, given his sway both in South Carolina and within the Democratic Party. His endorsement of Joe Biden is credited with propelling the former vice president to victory in the 2020 Democratic primaries.
Many Democrats, several of whom hold state and national recognition, would jump at the chance to succeed the veteran lawmaker in South Carolina. But the congressman has made it clear he has a preferred successor: his daughter, Jennifer Clyburn Reed, per an interview he held with the Washington Post.