Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democratic senator from New. Hampshire, has announced she will not run for reelection, creating an open-seat race in a battleground state that former Vice President Harris narrowly carried in 2024.
Shaheen announced what she described as a “difficult” decision in an interview with The New York Times.
“It was a difficult decision, made more difficult by the current environment in the country — by President Trump and what he’s doing right now,” Shaheen, who is 78, told The Times.
Shaheen is the third Senate Democrat to announce their retirement this year.
Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) have also said they don’t plan to run for reelection in 2026.
Peters’s retirement will set the stage for a very competitive race in Michigan while Democrats have a bigger advantage in the race to succeed Smith.
