Owens’ announcement on Wednesday adds to a broader wave of House retirements for the year, and it also concentrates attention on how Utah’s court-approved map will shape the congressional primary contests this fall.
Owens said his decision follows a redistricting shift that leaves Utah’s four Republicans contending for three U.S. House seats this election cycle. Under that arrangement, he said he would not run for another term after finishing his current term, stepping away from elected office once it ends.
He pointed to his plan to remain in office through the end of his term. “I will finish this term fully committed and fully accountable,” Owens said, and described his “final political sprint” as one that would be “here in Utah and across the country,” helping colleagues “expand our Republican majority.” The AP reported the remarks as part of Owens’ announcement.
The timing of the decision is tied to litigation over the map. Democrats have a high likelihood of flipping one of Utah’s four seats under the new congressional map adopted by a state judge last year, according to the AP report. The lawsuit efforts by Owens and other Republican officials were rejected by state and federal judges, who said it was too late to change the boundaries for 2026.
In practical terms, Owens’ retirement would affect the slate of Republican candidates in the primaries. With him leaving, the AP reported that Rep. Blake Moore, Rep. Celeste Maloy and Rep. Mike Kennedy would be able to run in three Republican-leaning districts without having to battle another incumbent.
The AP report also described the Democratic field in a district created or reshaped around Salt Lake County. It said the Democratic primary there includes former Rep. Ben McAdams, a moderate who Owens narrowly defeated when McAdams first entered Congress in 2020. The report said State Democrats could nominate their most progressive candidate to date, and that local officials to McAdams’ political left have announced bids.
Owens is 74 and has served three terms in Congress, the AP reported. Before entering politics, he played professional football, winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders in 1980 after playing for the New York Jets, according to the report. The AP also said Owens is a strong supporter of Donald Trump and has described Trump as “an advocate for Black Americans.”
With Owens’ planned exit from the House, the AP report said all four Black Republicans currently in the House have now announced they are leaving Congress. It said the other three are seeking different offices, including Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, John James of Michigan and Wesley Hunt of Texas.
The report said Hunt made an official bid in the fall, challenging Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, and that Hunt lost the primary Tuesday. The AP reported that Cornyn will face Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a May runoff.
The AP said Owens, who identified his intended post-office work as advancing opportunity and advocating for children and strengthening families, is among 53 House members who have announced retirements after this year. With primaries already underway in the first few states, the AP reported that it remains to be seen whether any Black members will remain in the House Republican conference next year, noting that the last time the House did not include a single Black Republican was between 2013 and 2015.
A separate part of the AP report recapped when the other Black Republicans announced their plans. It said Donalds announced in February 2025 that he would run to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, James announced in April that he would run for Michigan’s open governor’s race, and Hunt made official his challenge to Cornyn in October.