New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen Announces Senate Retirement

Shaheen becomes the fourth Senate retirement of the 2026 cycle.

Earlier today, Senate Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a Democrat, announced she will not run for re-election to a fourth term in office in 2026. She explained her decision in a video posted on X, which can be viewed here.

Shaheen, 78, becomes the fourth Senator to retire during the 2026 cycle so far and the third Democrat to do so - joining Gary Peters of Michigan and Tina Smith of Minnesota. In 2026, the U.S. Senate will see 35 contested races - 33 regular elections and 2 special elections. Republicans currently hold 22 of these seats while Democrats represent the remaining 13.

Shaheen has represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate since January 2009. Notably, she was the first female Senator to serve on the Foreign Relations Committee. Since the start of this year, she has been the Ranking Member on the influential panel.

Shaheen moved to New Hampshire in 1973, where she taught high school and co-owned a used jewelry store with her husband. She worked on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign in 1976 and was the state campaign manager for Gary Hart in 1984. In 1990, she ran for her first office - winning District 21 in the New Hampshire State Senate. She was re-elected in 1992 and 1994.

In 1996, Shaheen was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Hampshire following the retirement of Governor Steve Merrill, a Republican. She prevailed 57.2-39.5 against Republican Ovide Lamontagne. She became the first Democrat elected as Governor since Hugh Gallen won his second term in 1980. Shaheen was re-elected 66.1-30.9 against Republican Jay Lucas in 1998 and 48.7-43.8 against Republican Gordon Humphrey in 2000.

In 2002, Shaheen was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate. She ultimately lost 51.1-46.7 against Republican John Sununu. That was her only unsuccessful run for statewide office in New Hampshire. In 2008, Shaheen was successful 51.6-45.3 in her rematch against the Republican incumbent. She became the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate since John Durkin was defeated in his 1980 re-election campaign. She was re-elected 51.5-48.2 against Republican Scott Brown in 2014 and 56.6-41.0 against Republican Bryant “Corky” Messner in 2020.

In addition to Foreign Relations, Shaheen serves on the Senate Committees on Appropriations; Armed Services; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Ethics during the 119th Congress. She previously chaired the Senate Small Business Committee from September 2023 to January 2025.

No candidates have yet announced campaigns for either the Democratic or Republican nominations to succeed Shaheen in the U.S. Senate. While the state has a fully Democratic delegation to the U.S. Congress, Republicans have trifecta control of the state government. As such, this Senate race will become one of the most competitive of the cycle.

Plenty of speculation has started about who will step up for both parties. U.S. Representatives Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander, both Democrats, could potentially seek a promotion, with former U.S. Representative Annie Kuster as another option. Meanwhile, former Governor Chris Sununu would be the best recruit for Republicans. Other options for the GOP include current Governor Kelly Ayotte and former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown, who both previously served in the Senate.

New Hampshire has historically been one of the most competitive states in presidential elections. Nevertheless, the Democratic candidate has carried the state every cycle since 2004. In 2024, Democrat Kamala Harris prevailed 50.7-47.9 against Republican Donald Trump in her ultimately unsuccessful national campaign. Notably, that was a 4.5% shift to the right since 2020. New Hampshire was the closest state that went to Harris during the election.