Congressional Retirements on the Rise, Vacancies Not so Much

Congressional Retirements on the Rise, Vacancies Not so Much

While many members are retiring at the end of session, actual vacancies in this Congress are in line with recent historical norms and trends.

It might feel like an outsize wave of congressional vacancies occurred in 2026, but the departures align with 21st century trends. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Does it seem as if more congressional members are leaving office than normal this year? While many congressional members have announced retirements at the end of session, actual vacancies in this Congress are in line with recent historical norms and trends.

As of May 22, there are five vacant seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Throughout the 119th Congress (2025-26), 13 House members and three U.S. senators have vacated their seats. (This excludes West Virginia's 11-day vacancy that occurred at the beginning of the session due to technicalities with term overlap.) All Senate vacancies have been filled, and eight of the 13 House seats have been filled. Special elections to fill vacancies in California's 1st and 14th districts and Georgia's 13th are scheduled to take place before the November 2026 general election.

More Vacancies This Year?

It might feel like an outsize wave of vacancies occurred in 2026, but the departures align with 21st century trends, according to the U.S. House research office. Going back to the 107th Congress (2001-02), the average number of House vacancies per congressional session is about 13, with a high of 22 in the 117th Congress and a low of eight vacancies in both the 108th and 109th congresses.

According to congressional data, House vacancies have risen slightly in the 21st century, compared with the last quarter of the 20th century. Between the 96th (1979-80) and 106th (1999-2000) congresses, the average number of House vacancies per Congress was about 10, with a high of 15 in the 101st Congress and a low of six in the 106th Congress.

There is less data on the number of U.S. Senate vacancies per session, but generally there are significantly fewer than in the House. The number of vacancies requiring appointment to fill them in the 119th Congress so far is in line with numbers going back at least to the 107th Congress, according to U.S. Senate research. There have usually been between one and three resignations or deaths per session, with the seven departures during the 111th Congress being a notable outlier.

Congressional retirements, by contrast, areup significantly this year-the most since at least 2013, according to an Associated Press analysis-but most retiring members plan to leave after the 2026 election when their successor is sworn in, so their retirements do not create vacancies. The AP reports that 11 incumbent U.S. senators and 59 representatives-or 13% of the total congressional membership-will not be on the ballot in the November general election.

Senate Vacancies

For Senate vacancies, most states authorize their governors to appoint an interim successor to the vacancy until an election is held to fill the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term. (Only four states do not authorize interim appointments: Kentucky, North Dakota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin).

In 35 states, that vacancy election is held in conjunction with the next general election. The remaining 15 states hold special elections to fill a vacancy.

Interim appointments are not permitted for House vacancies. The vacancy must be filled by special election, but states differ on the timeline for holding that election. In 22 states, there is no specified statutory timeline for holding vacancy elections, often leaving the decision to the governor. Thirteen states either allow or require a special election within 100 days of a vacancy occurring, and 15 states have deadlines requiring the election to be held more than 100 days after a vacancy occurs.

Many states also specify that if a House vacancy occurs within a certain period before a regularly scheduled general election, no special election is necessary; the seat remains vacant until that general election.

House Vacancies

Some research suggests that the length of time that a U.S. House seat remains vacant has increased over the past 25 years, even while the number of vacancies occurring over that time has not significantly risen. A 2023 review in the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems found that the average length that a House seat remained vacant between 1997 and 2001 was 104 days, compared with an average of 173 days for vacancies occurring between 2017 and 2021.

Controversy has arisen in states with broad gubernatorial discretion for scheduling a special election for U.S. House vacancies. Without a statutorily specified timeline, vacant seats sometime remain empty for prolonged periods of time.

The timeline for U.S. Senate vacancies has generally caused less concern because the widespread use of interim appointments allows empty seats to be filled more quickly.

Since 1997, at least three House seats have remained vacant for over 300 days due to special election scheduling or governors opting to leave seats vacant until the next general election.

• Michigan: The seat for the 13th District was vacated when the officeholder resigned on Dec. 5, 2017; a special election to fill the vacancy was held Nov. 6, 2018, 336 days after the vacancy occurred. The elected successor was sworn in on Nov. 29, 2018, 359 days after the vacancy occurred.
• California: The 50th District seat remained empty for 356 days after the office was vacated Jan. 13, 2020. No special election was called, and the seat remained vacant until the successor elected in the regular November 2020 election was sworn into office on Jan. 3, 2021.
• Texas: The 13th District seat was vacated March 5, 2025, and the special election to fill the seat was held Jan. 31, 2026, 332 days later. The elected successor was sworn in on Feb. 2, 2026, 335 days after the vacancy occurred.

Brenna Nelson is a policy analyst in NCSL's Elections and Redistricting Program.