Just how many members of Congress are retiring this cycle? If you check with various news organizations, you’re likely to get a variety of answers, and that’s because this is a little more complicated than it probably should be.
The trick of it is figuring out exactly what counts as a “retirement.” Do we count the House members who gave up their seats to join Donald Trump’s cabinet? How about those who’ve already been replaced by way of a special election? Do resignations count? What do we do with Oklahoma’s Jim Bridenstine, who was nominated to run NASA, but who’s still casting votes in the House, and who may not be confirmed?
I’ve maintained my own list for several months, and with today’s congressional retirement announcements, it seemed like a good time to take a look at the landscape as I see it:
Total # of House retirements: 57 (38 Republicans and 19 Democrats, including John Conyers and Louise Slaughter)Total # of House retirements with members running for higher office: 21 of the 57 (13 Republicans and 8 Democrats)Total # of House retirements with members leaving elected office altogether: 36 of the 57 (25 Republicans and 11 Dems including Conyers and Slaughter)Total # of Senate retirements: 5 (4 Republicans and 1 Democrat, including Al Franken and Thad Cochran)
House Republicans retiring from elected office (25):California 39: Ed RoyceCalifornia 49: Darrell IssaFlorida 15: Dennis RossFlorida 17: Tom RooneyFlorida 27: Ileana Ros-LehtinenKansas 2: Lynn JenkinsMichigan 11: Dave TrottMississippi 3: Gregg HarperNew Jersey 2: Frank LoBiondoNew Jersey 11: Rodney FrelinghuysenPennsylvania 15: Charlie DentPennsylvania 9: Bill ShusterPennsylvania 7: Pat MeehanPennsylvania 8: Ryan CostelloSouth Carolina 4: Trey GowdyTennessee 2: Jimmy DuncanTexas 2: Ted PoeTexas 3: Sam JohnsonTexas 5: Jeb HensarlingTexas 21: Lamar SmithTexas 6: Joe BartonTexas 27: Blake FarentholdVirginia 6: Bob GoodlatteWashington 8: Dave ReichertWisconsin 1: Paul Ryan
House Republicans retiring to seek higher office (13):Arizona 2: Martha McSally (running for Senate)Florida 6: Ron DeSantis (running for governor)Idaho 1: Raúl Labrador (running for governor)Indiana 4: Todd Rokita (running for Senate)Indiana 6: Luke Messer (running for Senate)New Mexico 2: Steve Pearce (running for governor)North Dakota AL: Kevin Cramer (running for Senate)Ohio 16: Jim Renacci (running for governor)Pennsylvania 11: Lou Barletta (running for Senate)South Dakota at-large: Kristi Noem (running for governor)Tennessee 6: Diane Black (running for governor)Tennessee 7: Marsha Blackburn (running for Senate)West Virginia 3: Evan Jenkins (running for Senate)
House Republicans who’ve already resigned before the midterms (5), not including those who’ve joined the Trump cabinet:Arizona 8: Trent FranksOhio 12: Pat TiberiPennsylvania 18: Tim MurphyUtah 3: Jason ChaffetzTexas 27: Blake Farenthold
House Republicans awaiting Senate confirmation votes for executive branch (1):Oklahoma 1: Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator nominee
House Democrats retiring and leaving politics (10):Connecticut 5: Elizabeth EstyIllinois 4: Luis GutierrezMassachusetts 3: Niki TsongasMichigan 9: Sandy LevinMinnesota 8: Rick NolanNevada 4: Ruben KihuenNew Hampshire 1: Rep. Carol Shea-PorterNew York 25: Louis Slaughter (who passed away in March)Pennsylvania 1: Bob BradyTexas 26: Gene Green
House Democrats retiring to seek higher office (8):Arizona 9: Kyrsten Sinema (running for Senate)Colorado 2: Jared Polis (running for governor)Hawaii 1: Colleen Hanabusa (running for governor)Maryland 6: John Delaney (running for president)New Mexico 1: Michelle Lujan Grisham (running for governor)Minnesota 1: Tim Walz (running for governor)Nevada 3: Jacky Rosen (running for Senate)Texas 16: Beto O’Rourke (running for Senate)
House Democrats who’ve already resigned before the midterms (1):Michigan 13: John Conyers
Senate Republicans retiring or resigning (4):Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)
Senate Democrats retiring or resigning (1):Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."