New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen ended speculation over her 2026 plans on Wednesday, announcing she won’t seek reelection when her term ends.
Shaheen is the third Democrat in a competitive race so far to announce they won’t run again, underscoring just how difficult a path Democrats have to recapturing the majority despite the fact that the party out of power historically gains seats in a midterm election. As the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations committee she has long eyed being the first female chair of that committee, but Democrats look doubtful to win back the majority in 2026, or even 2028.
Shaheen would have been almost 80 if she ran, so deciding to exit now is hardly surprising. But Democrats have a strong bench of young candidates in the state who could run. And unlike the two contests we have in our Toss Up category — Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia and the Michigan open seat — this is a state that Vice President Kamala Harris won. President Donald Trump, however, did improve his margin in the Granite
What is The Cook Political Report?
The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.