House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., announced Wednesday he’d step down from office at the end of this term, adding his name to an increasingly long list of congressional Republicans who’ve called it quits since the start of the 115th Congress.
And it is an impressively long list.
Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Orrin Hatch of Utah, for example, announced earlier that this is their final go-around in the U.S. Senate. Former Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., have already left.
In contrast, only one Democratic senator has resigned or retired from office since January 2017, and leaving definitely wasn’t his idea.
Ryan’s not-so-secret news Wednesday morning raised a good question: Are there more GOP retirements to come? As of April 11, there are 19 states where election filing deadlines are still open, as noted by the Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman. These states are: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Vermont.
Between these 19 states, there are 56 GOP House members of Congress who are currently up for re-election. They still have time to retire before filing, which wouldn’t be that crazy considering how things have been going for this Congress. So, just in case, here’s a list of GOP House incumbents broken down by state:
Alaska:
Rep. Don Young
Arizona:
Rep. Paul Gosar
Rep. Andy Biggs
Rep. David Schweikert
Florida:
Rep. Matt Gaetz
Rep. Neal Dunn
Rep. Ted Yoho
Rep. John Rutherford
Rep. Bill Posey
Rep. Daniel Webster
Rep. Gus Bilirakis
Rep. Vern Buchanan
Rep. Brian Mast
Rep. Francis Rooney
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart
Rep. Carlos Curbelo
Kansas:
Rep. Roger Marshall
Rep. Kevin Yoder
Rep. Ron Estes
Louisiana:
Rep. Steve Scalise
Rep. Clay Higgins
Rep. Mike Johnson
Rep. Ralph Abraham
Rep. Garret Graves
Michigan:
Rep. Jack Bergman
Rep. Bill Huizenga
Rep. Justin Amash
Rep. John Moolenaar
Rep. Fred Upton
Rep. Tim Walberg
Rep. Mike Bishop
Rep. Paul Mitchell
Minnesota:
Rep. Jason Lewis
Rep. Erik Paulsen
Rep. Tom Emmer
New York:
Rep. Lee Zeldin
Rep. Peter King
Rep. Daniel Donovan
Rep. John Faso
Rep. Elise Stefanik
Rep. Claudia Tenney
Rep. Tom Reed
Rep. John Katko
Rep. Chris Collins
Oklahoma:
Rep. Markwayne Mullin
Rep. Frank Lucas
Rep. Tom Cole
Rep. Steve Russell
Washington:
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler
Rep. Dan Newhouse
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Wisconsin:
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner
Rep. Glenn Grothman
Rep. Sean Duffy
Rep. Mike Gallagher
Wyoming:
Rep. Liz Cheney
As of this writing, 54 individuals (37 Republicans and 17 Democrats) have announced they will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, according to Ballotpedia.
Nineteen incumbents are leaving to run for senator or governor. Of this particular group of departing House members, 12 are Republican, and seven are Democratic. There are also members who retired early to take on roles in the Trump administration. Others are leaving simply because they feel like it. A few members also have been pushed out, including disgraced Reps. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, Trent Franks, R-Ariz., and John Conyers, D-Mich.
Lastly, the House GOP has suffered nine early retirements or resignations in the 115th Congress. In contrast, there have been only three Democrats who fit in this category. (Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., doesn’t count as either, since she passed away.)
