Senator Cynthia Lummis (WY) retires, and surprisingly, Elise Stefanik hangs up both her House seat AND her Governor's race.
Two More Republicans Jump Ship: Lummis And Stefanik
Credit: @bluegal (Composite) via Bing AI
December 19, 2025

It's unlikely that Wyoming would send a Democrat to the Senate, but in 2026, anything can happen. And gotta say, good on Cynthia Lummis for realizing it's okay to retire at 71.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced Friday that she will not seek re-election in 2026, retiring at the end of her first term in the Senate. The 71-year-old veteran of Wyoming politics cited the physical and mental demands of the office.

In a heartfelt statement, the Senator described her tenure as "an incredible honor," noting that representing the people of Wyoming has remained her "one-and-only priority."

Lummis was candid about her decision to step away, comparing her time in Washington to a long-distance race.

"In the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall, I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me," Lummis admitted. "I have felt like a sprinter in a marathon."

Elise Stefanik is another story. She's not only not running for re-election to Congress, she's also dropping her primary race for Governor of New York.

I think Mark Jacob has this right:

Elise Stefanik finds that enabling Trump's corruption and amplifying his hatred isn't the ticket to the top she thought it was.

Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) 2025-12-19T22:14:12.631Z

Elise Stefanik did an event in her north country home district on Thursday and found the local crowd, in a ruby-red area, was intensely hostile to her. It was one of the reasons leading her to decide it was time to quit politics and move on. www.timesunion.com/state/articl...

Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) 2025-12-19T22:29:07.146Z

A two-fer today:
Adios to Cynthia Loomis & Elise Stefanik who join
Mitch McConnell (KY), Joni Ernst (IA)
Thom Tillis (NC), Marsha Blackburn (TN)
Tommy Tuberville (AL)
Don Bacon (NE) in the Senate
& many other House GOP who are running away from Trump
www.notus.org/congress/rep...
#GOPExodus

Sue in Rockville 💙🦋💙🦋💙🦋 (@sueinrockville.bsky.social) 2025-12-19T22:06:20.346Z

Can you help us out?

For over 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but social media is limiting our ability to attract new readers. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon