Two Republican women are giving up their seats next year in Congress, with one retiring from the Senate and the other from the House.
First up, Senator Cynthia Lumis from Wyoming, who says she doesn’t have the energy for these marathon sessions:
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) announced Friday she will not seek reelection to the upper chamber next year, setting up an open seat primary in the ruby red state.
Lummis made the announcement after the Senate adjourned for the holiday break, a move that will end her stay after a single term in office.
She said in a statement that after an intense session, especially the past several weeks, she did not have it in her to serve out another six-year term.
“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me, but in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me,” she said. “I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon. The energy required doesn’t match up.”
“I am honored to have earned the support of President Trump and to have the opportunity to work side by side with him to fight for the people of Wyoming,” she continued. “I look forward to continuing this partnership and throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to his desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the U.S. Senate.”
Second up is Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is suspending her campaign for governor of New York and saying she won’t seek reelection in the House:
Rep. Elise Stefanik announced Friday that she is suspending her campaign for New York governor and will not seek reelection to Congress.
In a post on X, Stefanik, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump, said “it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York.”
Stefanik was facing Bruce Blakeman, the executive of Nassau County, in what was expected to be a bitter Republican primary in the governor’s race to take on Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
State Republican Chairman Ed Cox said the party respected Stefanik’s decision and thanked her for her efforts.
“Bruce Blakeman has my endorsement and I urge our State Committee and party leaders to join me,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “Bruce is a fighter who has proven he knows how to win in difficult political terrain.”