Legislative gridlock causes senators to flee Capitol Hill and run for governor

Published June 25, 2025 6:00am ET



A record number of senators are ready to flee Capitol Hill and run for governor in the 2026 election cycle, the most since 1797.

The trend of senators transitioning to governors is due to frustration with Congress’s ineffectiveness, according to Patricia Crouse, a practitioner in residence of public administration and political science at the University of New Haven.

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