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Open seats in 2026

House and Senate contests where no candidate is registered with the FEC as the incumbent.

23 2026 contests with no registered candidate coded as the incumbent (18 House, 5 Senate)

79 contests have at least one candidate coded “open seat” (68 House, 11 Senate). FEC file dated Oct. 26, 2026.

As of .

444
House contests with a registered candidate
40
Senate contests with a registered candidate

Contests by FEC incumbent coding

Contests by FEC incumbent codingBar chart. House: no candidate coded incumbent 18; House: a candidate coded open seat 68; Senate: no candidate coded incumbent 5; Senate: a candidate coded open seat 11.House: no candidate coded incumbent · of 444House: no candidate coded incumbent: 1818House: a candidate coded open seat · of 444House: a candidate coded open seat: 6868Senate: no candidate coded incumbent · of 40Senate: no candidate coded incumbent: 55Senate: a candidate coded open seat · of 40Senate: a candidate coded open seat: 1111
Contests by FEC incumbent coding.

Contests with no candidate coded as the incumbent

Senate first, then House, 23 of 23. The date is the date of the FEC file. Each links to the FEC’s page for the contest.

  1. Senate

    Illinois U.S. Senate (opens the official record: FEC)

    9 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent; at least one coded open seat.

    Source: FEC

  2. Senate

    Montana U.S. Senate (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  3. Senate

    New Hampshire U.S. Senate (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  4. Senate

    Texas U.S. Senate (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  5. Senate

    West Virginia U.S. Senate (opens the official record: FEC)

    2 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  6. House

    California U.S. House, district 31 (opens the official record: FEC)

    2 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  7. House

    California U.S. House, district 38 (opens the official record: FEC)

    3 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  8. House

    Florida U.S. House, district 1 (opens the official record: FEC)

    6 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  9. House

    Florida U.S. House, district 6 (opens the official record: FEC)

    11 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  10. House

    Florida U.S. House, district 22 (opens the official record: FEC)

    13 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  11. House

    Georgia U.S. House, district 23 (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  12. House

    Guam U.S. House, at large (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  13. House

    Indiana U.S. House, district 3 (opens the official record: FEC)

    2 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  14. House

    Maryland U.S. House, at large (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  15. House

    Maryland U.S. House, district 4 (opens the official record: FEC)

    5 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  16. House

    New Mexico U.S. House, district 66 (opens the official record: FEC)

    1 registered candidate; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  17. House

    New York U.S. House, district 4 (opens the official record: FEC)

    8 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  18. House

    Texas U.S. House, district 3 (opens the official record: FEC)

    4 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  19. House

    Texas U.S. House, district 9 (opens the official record: FEC)

    13 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  20. House

    Texas U.S. House, district 32 (opens the official record: FEC)

    11 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  21. House

    Texas U.S. House, district 35 (opens the official record: FEC)

    12 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  22. House

    Utah U.S. House, district 1 (opens the official record: FEC)

    8 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

  23. House

    Virginia U.S. House, district 5 (opens the official record: FEC)

    10 registered candidates; none coded as the incumbent.

    Source: FEC

How this is counted

  • The FEC codes every candidate in its candidate file as an incumbent (“I”), a challenger (“C”) or running in an open seat (“O”). We take the candidates registered for 2026 whose FEC status is statutory candidate (“C”) and group them by seat: one U.S. Senate contest per state and one U.S. House contest per district.
  • The headline counts seats where no registered candidate is coded as the incumbent. The second figure counts seats where at least one candidate is coded “open seat”. The two overlap but are not the same, because the FEC codes each candidate when they file.
  • This is a count of what candidates told the FEC when they registered. The FEC does not say why a member is not running, and a member who lost a primary may still be coded as the incumbent, so this is not a list of retirements.

Sources: FEC candidate master file (opens the official source) · FEC: candidate data (opens the official source)

Related trackers

Trackers count records; they do not rate, forecast or explain them. Each record links to its official source. Your Watch Desk · How we work · Corrections