Senator Mitt Romney announces his retirement: which other senators have decided not to run in 2024?

Utah Senator Mitt Romney announced this week that he would not seek a second term in office. The seventy-six-year-old argued in a video posted on social media that it was time for a new generation of leaders to influence the policies for a future they will live to see.

Five senators will retire in 2024

Sen. Romney joins a short list of the thirty-three leaders up for re-election who have said that they will retire when their current term comes to an end: Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DL). Indiana Senator Mike Braun has announced his intention to run for governor in his home state, opening up a sixth race.

Sen. Romney’s age was a central factor in his decision to retire from politics, with the leader arguing that at seventy-six, he would be in his mid-eighties at the end of a second term. As he sees it, “It’s time for a new generation of leaders.” “They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in,” added the Utah leader.

In recent weeks, the mental capacity of two high-profile senators has come into question as they very publically fumble through committee hearings and press conferences. One of these senators is California’s Dianne Feinstein, who is the chamber’s oldest member at ninety. Sen. Feinstein has made the controversial decision to remain in her seat into her term comes to an end. Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, eighty-one, who is not up for re-election until 2026, also said he will not retire early after two very public incidents in which he became unable to speak when asked questions by reporters.

A look at the 2024 map

The map is much more favorable to Republicans who are hoping to snag a majority in the upper chamber in 2024. Ten seats are held by Republicans, twenty by Democrats, and three by independents who caucus with the Democrats.

One of the most exciting races will be in Arizona, where Democratic turned-independent senator Kyrsten Sinema will try to defend her seat from both Democratic and Republican challengers. Sen. Sinema has not formally announced that she will seek a second term, but she has filled out the necessary paperwork should she choose to do so.