The announcement by Minnesota Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar that she is running for Governor, makes her the fourth sitting US Senator who is choosing, if the voters agree, to transfer from the legislative branch to being Chief Executive of their state governments.
The other three sitting Senators taking the same path are:
Michael Bennet (D) Colorado
Marsha Blackburn (R) Tennessee
Tommy Tuberville (R) Alabama
Klobuchar has been in the Senate since 2007, and if she were to fail to win the election this fall, she would keep her seat in the Senate, secure until 2030. She is a national figure, due to her run for the Presidency in 2020. The odds are heavy in her favor to win the Governorship of a state strongly “Blue”, and to succeed Tim Walz.
Michael Bennet has been in the Senate since 2009, and would keep his seat until 2028 if he lost the Governorship, but is heavily favored to win what is a largely “Blue” state. He also was a Presidential contender in 2020.
Marsha Blackburn has been in the Senate since 2019, and would keep her seat until 2030 were she to lose the Governorship race, which is unlikely. She also served in the House of Representatives from 2003-2019.
Tommy Tuberville has been in the Senate since 2021, and his former football coach background insures that he will, very likely, win the Alabama Governorship, just as his one Senate term ends in 2026.
With the likelihood that all four Senators will win their state Governorship election, and adding the nine Senators who are retiring from the Senate at the end of 2026, that means at least 13 Senators will be newly elected this November.
This does not include the contended Senate seats, which could bring about up to another 4-8 newly elected Senators.
So we are witnessing what could be one out of every five Senators being new to the body, and as it is now, at least one of every eight!
There have been, historically, 2,018 Senators, and after these meidterm elections, they will be greater than 2,030 in number!