Congress members not seeking re-election, recall results, and school cellphone bans.
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Here are the top stories from the week of November 10 to November 14.
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Forty-five members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026—the most at this point since 2018
Forty-five members of Congress—37 representatives and eight senators—have announced they will not seek re-election in 2026. That’s the most retirement announcements at this point in an election cycle since 2018.
Of the 37 representatives not running for re-election, 15 are Democrats and 22 are Republicans.
Thirteen—nine Democrats and four Republicans—are retiring from public office.
Twelve—six Democrats and six Republicans—are running for the U.S. Senate.
Eleven—all Republicans—are running for governor.
One Republican is running for Texas attorney general.
Five of them—two Democrats and three Republicans—won by 10 percentage points or less in their last election. Three of five representatives—Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.)—won by less than five percentage points.
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were 25 retirement announcements in 2024, 24 in 2022, 27 in 2020, and 31 in 2018.
Of the eight senators who are not seeking re-election, four are Democrats and four are Republicans.
When they last ran in 2020, four of them—two Democrats and two Republicans—won by 10 percentage points or less. Two of five senators—Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.)—won by less than five percentage points.
At this point in the last four election cycles, there were seven retirement announcements in 2024, six in 2022, four in 2020, and two in 2018.
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A look at the recall elections against 13 elected officials that happened on Nov. 4
On Nov. 4, there were recall elections against 13 elected officials in six states. Among the 13 elected officials were seven city council members, two school board members, two county officials, one county commissioner, and one mayor.
Nine were successfully recalled and results are still pending for four others.. Two notable recalls include:
Mesa, Arizona, voters successfully recalled District 2 City Councilmember Julie Spilsbury. Dorean Taylor defeated Spilsbury 53% to 47%. The recall effort began on Jan. 30, when Mesa resident JoAnne Robbins filed a recall petition. The grounds given in the petition for the recall include Spilsbury's votes in favor of changing a hotel into the site of Mesa's “Off the Streets” transitional housing program, increasing city council salaries, and increasing utility rates.
Fort Myers Beach, Florida, voters successfully recalled Councilmembers John King and Karen Woodson. In King’s election, 63% of voters opted to recall him, while 37% did not. In Woodson’s election, 64% of voters opted to recall her, while 36% did not. These were the first successful recall elections in Florida’s Lee County in nearly 75 years.
As of Oct. 13, voters have approved recalls for 41 of the 327 elected officials named in recall efforts this year. That's a success rate of approximately 13%. From 2010 to 2024, an average of 17% of all recalls were successful.
Click the link below for more details about this year’s recall elections.
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Wisconsin becomes the 21st state to adopt a K-12 cellphone ban in 2025
On Oct. 31, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed Assembly Bill 2 requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit cellphone use during instructional time.
The Wisconsin Assembly passed the bill 53-45 on Feb. 19 with mostly Republican support. Fifty-three Republicans voted in favor. One Republican and 44 Democrats voted against it. On Oct. 14, the Wisconsin Senate passed the bill 29-4. Eighteen Republicans and 11 Democrats were in favor, and four Democrats were opposed.
Between May 2023 and the end of 2024, six states enacted statewide restrictions on student cellphone use in schools—an average of roughly one every three months. Since the beginning of 2025, an average of roughly two states have enacted restrictions each month.
Thirty-six states have laws or policies addressing cellphone use in schools since 2023, but not all of them require districts to limit the technology.
Of the 27 states that have required districts to restrict student cellphone access in schools:
Seventeen have Republican trifectas.
Three have Democratic trifectas.
Six have divided governments
In the six states with divided governments, four have Democratic governors—Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Wisconsin—and two—Nevada and Vermont—have Republican governors.
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