Summary
The Associated Press analysis of congressional retirements points to a growing trend among sitting U.S. senators to pursue governor jobs rather than keep their careers centered in Washington in the 2026 cycle. The shift includes a new announcement from Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who became the fourth sitting senator to seek leadership of a home state in 2026. The wider pattern, AP said, reflects a change in how lawmakers view the value of serving in the Senate versus running a state.
Klobuchar’s announcement on Thursday followed similar moves by Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet, Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn and Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville, all of whom are running for governor. AP said the latest wave builds on what it described as a broader exodus from the Senate’s upper chamber, with 11 senators saying they plan to retire next year and nine doing so in the final year of their term.
AP also framed the trend as a sign that the Senate, once seen as the capstone of long political careers or a platform for presidential bids, is increasingly viewed as stagnant and dysfunctional. In that portrayal, the governor’s office offers a different kind of political opportunity—governing authority, an executive record and a role in shaping a national profile that senators typically cannot fully control from the legislative branch.
Tuberville, who was first elected in 2020, told AP there was no single common denominator among senators making the switch to run for governor. He said he was going because he believed he could do more in the short term than he could in the long term from the Senate. He also described the governor’s role as “CEO of the state,” where a vote counts more than it does as one of 100 in the Senate.
In Colorado, Bennet’s decision to run for governor drew particular attention in his home state even as he had voiced long frustration with what he described as glacial progress in Washington. In an interview, Bennet said there was no way to address problems such as affordability from the Senate, and he argued that President Donald Trump’s Washington would not respond to the challenges Colorado faces. Bennet said Trump was “literally hanging gold on the walls of the Oval Office,” and he also referenced Trump’s “declared war” on Colorado.
Bennet’s remarks tied national partisan conflict to state-level concerns, including Trump’s vow to make the state pay for continuing to imprison a county clerk who was convicted while trying to help prove what Trump characterized as bogus claims about the 2020 election. Bennet also said Trump had vetoed a water project intended to help the state’s rural areas, as he sought to frame why he believed fighting those issues required taking an executive role in Colorado.
Bennet and his Democratic primary rival, Colorado state attorney general Phil Weiser, each argued they were best positioned to push back against Trump, AP reported. Bennet said, “It’s very important to have people who understand those national fights and who won’t cower in the face of that,” pointing to the national dimension of the contest as he made his case to Democratic voters.
The AP report also said the underlying timing suggests the Senate could face its highest turnover in more than a decade even if no additional senators announce retirements. It cited the last time more than a dozen senators left in one year as occurring after the 113th Congress, when 13 senators retired, resigned or died, in part after President Barack Obama tapped senators for positions in his Democratic administration.
Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University, described the pattern as a “push and a pull factor.” He said the push came from a Senate that had become “a more noxious place for lawmakers,” because the downsides of serving in public office and in the Senate were no longer offset by the upsides of passing legislation. Dallek said governorships were increasingly attractive because states have to manage practical constraints such as balancing budgets, working on bipartisan legislation and building governance outcomes.
He also pointed to examples of governing templates, citing Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida, as Republicans who have used their offices on topics ranging from immigration to cultural issues. AP added that, according to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, 22 senators have served as governors after leaving the Senate since the direct election of senators began in 1913, with seven moving directly from the Senate to governor. Most recently, AP said Mike Braun of Indiana won the governor’s race in 2024 while serving as the state’s junior senator.