New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen won’t run for re-election in 2026
New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, the newest Democrat in the Senate, announced her retirement instead of seeking reelection during 2026.
The former governor and three-term senator announced on Wednesday in New England’s swing country that would complicate efforts to regain Republican control over the Senate in next year’s election.
The news also marks the beginning of the end of a long and successful career of the first American woman to win the elections in American politics by governors and U.S. senators.
Senate Republican running chairman reveals his goals for 2026
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., comments on reducing the cost of prescription drugs ahead of President Joe Biden’s arrival, Tuesday, October 22, 2024, Tuesday, October 22, 2024 (AP Photo/Steven Senn)
“I ran for office and brought change to the people of New Hampshire,” Shahain said. “This purpose will never happen, but it will never change. But today, after careful consideration, I announced that I have made a difficult decision not to seek re-election in 2026.”
The highest political obstacle reveals Democrats’ chances of winning a Senate majority
Shaheen, 78, added earlier this year: “It’s time.”
In months, whether Shaheen won the Senate election for the first time in 2008 and this year becoming the first woman in history to hold one of the first two positions in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be among the women during their tenure, and whether they will serve again.
Shaheen raised $170,000 in the final fundraising quarter of 2024, which attracted the welcome that the senator may not be preparing for another reelection campaign. But sources in Shahing’s political track noted that the senators did not emphasize fundraising activities in the fourth quarter of last year, including the last month of the 2024 presidential election.
Fox News confirmed last week that Shaheen plans to hold a major fundraising event in Manchester, New Hampshire on March 20. There is no news yet whether the incident has been cancelled.
National Republicans see an opportunity to transform New Hampshire Senate seats from blue to red, and the National Republican Senate Committee has already advertised Shaheen for Shaheen as she defends the US International Development funding that the Trump administration is resisting.
Former Senator Scott Brown accepts Fox News figures in Rye, New Hampshire on December 24, 2024 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Former Massachusetts former Senator Scott Brown later barely lost to New Hampshire’s Shaheen in the 2014 election, and he is seriously considering the 2026 game.
Former Trump ambassador’s eyes Senate returns
Brown, who served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand for four years during President Donald Trump’s first administration, has held meetings with Republicans in New Hampshire for several months and has met with Republican officials in the nation’s capital several times.
Chris Sununu, a popular former Republican governor in New Hampshire, said in repeated interviews with Fox News and other news organizations over the past year that he has no interest in the 2026 Senate.
Among Democrats, everyone’s eyes will now be around four-term Rep. Chris Pappas to see if he launched the Senate campaign.
It has been 15 years since the Republicans last won the Senate election in New Hampshire.
Republicans flipped four Democratic-chaired Senate seats in the election last November to win control of the room. They now control the room and aim to expand their majority in 2026.
In addition to New Hampshire, the Republican Party is targeting the battlefield in Michigan, with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced in January that he would not seek reelection. Georgia is also on the radar of 2026, which is another key battlefield state, and Republicans believe that first-year Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff is vulnerable.
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced last month that she would not bid for another term in the mid-term next year, which made the Republicans hope it could be competitive in blue states.
But Republicans are also defending in the 2026 cycle.
The Democrats plan to attack in the Blue Maine state, with mid-season Republican Sen. Susan Collins and North Carolina Balterground, where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is also there in 2026.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Democrats are looking at the Red Ohio state, with Republican Gov. Jon Husted being appointed president in January to the current Senate president. Husted will run next year to complete Vance’s tenure.
