Sen. Lummis announces she will not seek reelection in 2026

CHEYENNE — U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced Friday that she will not seek reelection in 2026 after one term as senator, serving since 2021.

Lummis, a staunch conservative and Wyoming’s first female U.S. senator, made the announcement in a news release and on social media.

“Deciding not to run for re-election does represent a change of heart for me, 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,” she wrote.

Political career

Before serving in the U.S. Senate, Lummis, 71, represented Wyoming as the state’s sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017.

“What a blessing to serve with Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi when I was in the U.S. House, and with John and Rep. Harriet Hageman while I’ve been in the Senate. We all put Wyoming first, which has cemented our cohesive working relationship,” she said.

Lummis first began her political career at age 24 in 1979 at the state level when she was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives, representing Laramie County.

She served until 1993, with a stint away from office between 1983 and 1985.

Just as she made the switch from representative to senator on the federal level in 2021, she had done so previously in 1993 when she was elected to the Wyoming Senate, where she served until becoming state treasurer in 1997, a position she held for 12 years.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent Wyoming in the U.S. Senate, and throughout my time here, Wyoming has been my one-and-only priority,” Lummis wrote.

Work in Washington, D.C.

In recent years as a politician, Lummis was dubbed the “Crypto Queen” by various media outlets for her embrace of cryptocurrency policy and her ownership of Bitcoin. In 2021, it was reported that Lummis purchased between $50,001 and $100,000 worth of Bitcoin.

According to an article from CNBC, she made her first Bitcoin purchase in 2013 for $330 per token. One Bitcoin was worth $88,166 on Friday.

“Senator Lummis earned national recognition for her pioneering work in cryptocurrency policy, pressing for innovation while demanding transparency and accountability,” Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., wrote in a news release following Lummis’ announcement. “Her forward-looking approach reflects her belief that financial and technological progress can coexist and allow for individual freedom and fiscal safety.”

Lummis has also been a controversial national public figure, making headlines across the country in 2021 for being one of only seven U.S. senators, all Republican, to vote to overturn the results of the 2020 Pennsylvania general election, while 92 voted against it.

Earlier this year, it was reported that in 2023 the FBI sought and obtained phone data about eight Republican senators, including Lummis, for phone usage between Jan. 4, 2021, and Jan. 7, 2021, potentially in relation to her vote to overturn the election following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots.

The report from the FBI does not indicate why the phone records of any lawmakers were of interest.

2026 election

Lummis’ term will expire in January 2027, and she will not seek reelection despite a March endorsement from President Donald Trump for a second term.

“I am honored to have earned the support of President Trump and to have the opportunity to work side by side with him to fight for the people of Wyoming. I look forward to continuing this partnership and throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to his desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the U.S. Senate,” she wrote at the time.