Democrats will have a third seat being vacated by an incumbent lawmaker in the 2026 midterms with the party trying to retake the majority from Republicans who control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced on Wednesday she would not seek another term, creating an open seat both parties view as an important race in deciding the balance of power in the Senate. Her departure will add another seat for Democrats to defend without an incumbent after Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan and Tina Smith of Minnesota announced they will not run for reelection.

Shaheen did not detail her reasons for not seeking a fourth term in a video announcement posted on social media.

“After careful consideration, I’m announcing that I have made the difficult decision not to seek reelection to the Senate in 2026,” Shaheen said. “It’s just time.”

New Hampshire leans Democratic in federal elections and has not sent a Republican to the Senate since 2010 when now-Gov. Kelly Ayotte won a midterm election. Despite its recent Democratic lean, the race will be competitive for Republicans. The party has won statewide elections with Ayotte replacing former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu. Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by less than 3% in the 2024 election, half the margin of President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

“Another one! Shaheen’s retirement is welcome news for Granite Staters eager for new leadership. New Hampshire has a proud tradition of electing common-sense Republicans — and will do so again in 2026!” Sen. Tim Scott, the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s chair, said in a social media post.

It is too early to predict what the political backlash will be for President Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in 2026, but midterms tend to favor the party opposite of the White House. The GOP is already facing some potential struggles with the economy, with souring consumer sentiment and a prolonged struggle for the stock market over trade war fears.

“That’s been the dynamic in New Hampshire, so 2026 ought to be a good year for Democrats,” said Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center. “Shaheen probably picked the best time for the Democratic Party to drop out. She’s giving the next nominee, whoever it is, really, two years to put together a campaign, raise money, etc.”

Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts senator who has since moved to New Hampshire and ran against Shaheen in 2014, is seen as a potential challenger for the GOP nomination. In a post on X, he thanked Shaheen for her service and said “now it’s time for New Hampshire to have someone in the delegation who fights for our priorities and stands with, not against, the Trump agenda.”

Sununu, who remains popular with the state’s voters, had previously said he wouldn’t run for Senate but told The Washington Times this week he had not ruled it out completely.

For Democrats, the early contenders to replace Shaheen are Rep. Chris Pappas and first-term Rep. Maggie Goodlander.

Shaheen’s retirement comes at a difficult time for Democrats who have been squeezed out of power in Washington. The party is still trying to figure out how to mount an effective response to the president amid frustration from voters and internal strife within the party about what direction to move in.

Losing another incumbent also now means the party will have to invest significant resources to maintain the seat against Republican challenges.

Several retiring lawmakers the last two election cycles have cited a need for new Democratic leadership because of age concerns for Biden, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Think of the criticism of the Democratic Party under Biden — they’re old, the leadership is old, not only at the White House, but in the Senate and the House, that there’s this whole generation of younger Democrats that are younger people that kind of drifted away towards Trump, perhaps because they didn’t see anybody in the Democratic Party that kind of resembled them in their lives or was talking to them,” Smith said.

The Senate map for 2026 isn’t favorable for Democrats to retake a majority even though Republicans currently hold 20 of the 33 seats up for reelection. Republicans have a 53-to-47 majority. Only the seats of GOP Sens. Tom Tillis in North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine are likely to be competitive races, while Democrats are defending vacated seats in Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire along with Sen. John Ossoff’s seat in Georgia that will also be tightly contested.

Have a news tip? Contact Austin Denean at atdenean@sbgtv.com or at x.com/austindenean.