Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said Wednesday she won鈥檛 run for re-election in 2026, bringing to an end a political career that spans half a century.
In a announcement, Shaheen said it had been 鈥渁n incredible honor鈥� to serve as a state lawmaker, governor and senator. She said the decision to step aside was a difficult one, but 鈥渋t鈥檚 just time.鈥�
Shaheen, a 78-year-old Democrat from Madbury, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, and is now in her third term. Prior to that, she served three terms as New Hampshire governor and as a state senator, after getting her start in Granite State politics on . She is the first woman to be elected both governor and U.S. senator.
Her style of politics 鈥� moderate on fiscal matters, more liberal on social issues 鈥� set a model for a generation of fellow New Hampshire Democrats who followed her into the governor鈥檚 office and Congress.
In her video announcement, Shaheen said her decision did not amount to a full retirement.
鈥滻 am determined to work every day, over the next two years and beyond, to continue to try and make a difference for the people of New Hampshire and this country,鈥� she said.
An undefined race to fill an open seat
Shaheen鈥檚 announcement adds to the challenge facing national Democrats in their efforts to take control of the U.S. Senate in 2026, and the race to succeed her is wide open.
No Democrats have yet formally announced interest in running for the seat. But New Hampshire鈥檚 two members of Congress 鈥� Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander 鈥� are considered possible contenders.
Pappas, who is serving his fourth term representing the state鈥檚 1st Congressional District, called Shaheen a 鈥渢railblazing leader鈥� in a social media post Wednesday and noted that he worked as a volunteer on her first race for governor in 1996.
鈥淚 thank her for setting an example of how to lead with integrity and for being my friend,鈥� Pappas said.
Goodlander, who was elected to her first term in the 2nd Congressional District last year, thanked Shaheen for her 鈥渋ncredible, tireless service to our state and our country,鈥� in a post on X.
Former Democratic Congresswoman Annie Kuster told the Boston Globe Wednesday that if Pappas does not run for the Senate seat, 鈥淚 would take a serious look at the race.鈥�
On the Republican side, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who Shaheen defeated in 2014, is considering a run. And former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu recently said to the idea of running for Senate, after previously saying he has no interest in serving in Congress.
A record of endurance
Shaheen鈥檚 career is a testament to her endurance, and her incremental approach to politics. She served three terms as a state senator before first running for governor, in 1996, at a time when Democrats had little record of statewide electoral success. She campaigned on kitchen table issues, like jobs and electricity costs, and neutralized what had been a reliable attack on Democrats as pro-tax by pledging to veto a broad-based tax. She won that first race with nearly 60% of the vote.
The Shaheen approach provided a model for all successful Democrats who followed her into the corner office and Congress 鈥� so much so that, in recent years, state party gatherings have often featured chants and signs claiming 鈥淭his is Shaheen Country.鈥�
As governor, Shaheen expanded public kindergarten, and pushed for New Hampshire to adopt a holiday to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. She championed abortion rights, state-funded healthcare for children, and laws to reduce power plant pollution and increase land conservation.
But Shaheen also regularly broke with liberals in her party. She vetoed a bill to repeal the state鈥檚 death penalty, and her veto threats doomed bills to create a broad-based income tax.
She also worked to upgrade the New Hampshire Democratic Party鈥檚 political operation, modernizing its fundraising and communications strategies and 鈥� in the process 鈥� making the party much more competitive. Democrats went on to win six of the seven subsequent gubernatorial elections after Shaheen鈥檚 administration.
After three terms as governor, Shaheen set her sights on the U.S. Senate. She lost her first Senate bid in 2002, to John E. Sununu. Six years later, Shaheen won their rematch.
In Washington, Shaheen built a reputation as a detail-oriented legislator who is short on flash but willing to work across party lines. She did so to help pass infrastructure bills, policies to improve energy efficiency and bills to benefit veterans.
Foreign policy also became a key focus for Shaheen, a staunch backer of Ukraine in its war with Russia, and a persistent critic of how the Netanyahu government has prosecuted its war against Hamas in Gaza. She is now the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
鈥淪he'll get described as a trailblazer, and so forth, because she was the first woman elected governor, first woman in the country to be a governor and a senator, but in some ways that sells her short,鈥� said Dante Scala, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire. 鈥淚 mean, she won statewide office six times. That's better than [former governor] Judd Gregg. That's better than any Sununu. It's really a record of longevity and success in elections that I think you could go back a century in order to find her true counterparts.鈥�
