You wouldn't generally hear me praising a Democrat. 

But I want to in this piece, for a very limited and specific reason: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), 78, has decided she will not be running again. A lot of people are speculating on why she's made the decision, but she simply says, "It's just time." 

Today, after careful consideration, I'm announcing that I have made the difficult decision not to seek reelection to the Senate in 2026.

There are urgent challenges ahead, both here at home and around the world. And while I'm not seeking re-election – believe me – I am not… pic.twitter.com/h0urg7ZZx6

— Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (@SenatorShaheen) March 12, 2025

 And while I'm not seeking re-election – believe me – I am not retiring.

We have so many people it seems who think they should stay in the position until basically they have to be carried out. That doesn't serve the people, and frankly, it doesn't even serve themselves or their families. Kudos to her for realizing it's time for her to step aside. She's been there since 2009, 15 years. She was governor of New Hampshire before that and in New Hampshire politics for a long time. What a thought, that you can actually leave and then spend time with your family in your 80s, rather than being in D.C. 

On top of it, it's great news for the Republicans, so I'm not exactly sad that she's going. It was already going to be a difficult situation for Democrats when it comes to the Senate in 2026. Now Shaheen is joining two others who already have said they're not running again, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) in tough, competitive states. 

As Ed Morrissey observed at our sister site Hot Air:

Losing incumbents in those seats portends real disaster for a party that needs to gain four seats next year to take back the Senate, and where they already face a big problem in holding Jon Ossoff's seat in Georgia.

Even former CNN reporter Chris Cillizza thinks that it's a tough time to be a Democrat in D.C. 

Just another hammer blow for Democrats.

Not only will this seat be a major pickup opportunity for Republicans but this is now 3 swing state Democratic senators who are retiring.

But also sends a message that being a Democrat in DC these days is no fun. https://t.co/8pv1uCQ0eJ

— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) March 12, 2025

They're going to have a tough time, particularly if Trump continues to have success. 

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Shaheen didn't do particularly well in fundraising in the last quarter, so that might factored into her consideration, as well. 

Shaheen raised a paltry $170,000 in the final fundraising quarter of 2024, which sparked buzz that the senator might not be preparing for another re-election campaign. But sources in Shaheen’s political orbit noted that the senator did not emphasize fundraising in the fourth quarter of last year, which included the final month of the 2024 presidential election.

Democrats are not doing well in the public's eyes at this point; their polling numbers are in the basement. 

Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is a likely candidate for the seat. Although former governor Chris Sununu had previously said he wasn't interested in running, this might change his mind. There's word he now may be reconsidering.

The GOP controls the House and the Senate – and we need to keep it that way in 2026.

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