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Almost three-quarters of the members of Congress who decided to leave their post for a chance to move up the political order fell short this cycle.
Just five members — three Democrats and two Republicans — won bids for another major office this cycle, compared to 14 who lost.
The highest-profile winner on the left side of the aisle are California Rep. Karen Bass, who will become the first woman to serve as mayor of Los Angeles after a competitive primary and general election. Vermont Rep. Peter Welch won his Senate race as well, as did Maryland Rep. Anthony Brown, who ran for attorney general in his home state.
On the GOP side, only North Carolina Rep. Ted Budd and Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin won their pursuits for higher office. Both will serve as senators from their home states in the next Congress.
Six Democrats and eight Republican members of Congress were not so lucky, as they all gave up their seats and lost their elections. That includes the high-profile Democratic Senate nominees Tim Ryan of Ohio and Val Demings of Florida, gubernatorial nominees Lee Zeldin (New York) and Charlie Crist (Florida), a slew of members who lost primaries for Senate seats in states like Pennsylvania and Missouri, and a few bids for statewide office that sputtered out in the primaries.
This cycle was harder on members of Congress looking to advance than the past two cycles (not including presidential bids) — in 2020, five lawmakers won bids for a different office while three lost, and in 2018, 11 won and 10 lost.
