New Hampshire's longtime Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen is stepping down - handing Republicans another opportunity to solidify their Senate majority in the midterm elections next year.
78-year-old Shaheen, a fixture in the state's politics, is exiting the stage at a time when Democrats are locked out of power in Washington and struggling to oppose President Trump's sweeping reform agenda. Her decision further dims Democrats' hopes of taking back the Senate majority.
“Today, after careful consideration, I’m announcing that I have made the difficult decision not to seek reelection to the Senate in 2026,” Shaheen said in a video statement. “It’s just time.”
Shaheen has been serving in the Senate since 2009. Before that, she was New Hampshire's governor from 1997 to 2003.
She is the third Democratic senator in a swing state to announce their retirement recently. Michigan's Gary Peters and Minnesota's Tina Smith are also bowing out. In Georgia, Democratic senator Jon Ossoff is seen as a vulnerable incumbent.
With Shaheen retiring, Republicans have a fresh pickup opportunity in a politically moderate state that has seesawed between Democrats and Republicans for years.
The state's voters elected a Republican, Kelly Ayotte, as their governor in the fall. The presidential election results were close, with Donald Trump losing by less than 3 points.
"Another one!” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the Senate GOP campaign arm, wrote on X.
“Shaheen’s retirement is welcome news for Granite Staters eager for new leadership. New Hampshire has a proud tradition of electing common-sense Republicans — and will do so again in 2026!"
After previously ruling it out, the state's former Republican governor Chris Sununu - the son of a powerful political family in the Granite State - said he is reconsidering a Senate run.
Sununu, a moderate Republican, could be a formidable candidate for the party given his popularity as governor.
"I have not ruled it out completely, but folks in Washington have asked me to think about it and to consider it, and that is just kind of where I am," he told the Washington Times.
Former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown, who narrowly lost to Shaheen in 2014, is also a Republican contender.
In contrast to Republicans, Democrats have no good pickup opportunities. They will once again try to topple Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins, a tenacious moderate who won re-election in 2020 despite being heavily outspent by her opponent.
