Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis says she’s done after 2026, won’t run for another term

Wyoming Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis says she’s stepping off the political treadmill, Scripps News reports.

Lummis announced Friday that she won’t seek a second term in 2026, ending her time in the US Senate after one term. In a written statement, the 71-year-old senator said the decision wasn’t easy — and wasn’t exactly the plan — but the pace of the job finally caught up with her.

“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me,” Lummis said. “But in the difficult, exhausting session weeks this fall I’ve come to accept that I do not have six more years in me. I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon. The energy required doesn’t match up.”

Lummis is no stranger to Washington. She served four years as Wyoming’s lone member of the US House before retiring in 2017. A few years later, she jumped back in — winning a Senate seat in 2020 after longtime Sen. Mike Enzi retired.

Her announcement kicks off early maneuvering for a wide-open 2026 race in a state that’s been reliably red for decades. Wyoming hasn’t elected a Democrat to the US Senate since 1977, according to The Hill.

One name already floating around as a possible successor: Rep. Harriet Hageman, currently serving her second term in the House.