Shaheen Made History as First Woman Elected Governor of New Hampshire, First Woman in American History to Serve as Both Governor and US Senator, and the First Woman to Lead the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced she will not seek reelection in 2026, in a video message shared with New Hampshire voters today, March 12th.

“I ran for public office to make a difference for the people of New Hampshire. That purpose has never, and will never, change,” Senator Shaheen said in the video. “But today, after careful consideration, I’m announcing that I have made the difficult decision not to seek reelection to the Senate in 2026. It’s just time.”

“There are urgent challenges ahead, both here at home and around the world. And while I’m not seeking reelection, believe me, I am not retiring. I am determined to work every day over the next two years and beyond to continue to try and make a difference for the people of New Hampshire and this country,” continued Shaheen, who served three terms as Governor of New Hampshire and is now serving her third term as U.S. Senator. 

Shaheen became the first woman elected Governor in New Hampshire history in 1996, and the first Democrat elected as Governor in 16 years. In 2008, she became the first woman in American history to be elected both Governor and U.S. Senator. It was the first time New Hampshire ever sent a woman to the U.S. Senate, and the first Democrat in more than 30 years. Now, as Ranking Member, she is the first woman to lead either party on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

A video summary of Shaheen’s accomplishments as Governor and U.S. Senator to date, can be found here.

A former teacher and small business owner, who also served in the New Hampshire State Senate, Shaheen set the state on a new course as Governor.  She passed the largest expansion of public kindergarten as well as historic investments in public schools, job training and the state University System. Shaheen established a new health insurance program for kids and cracked down on predatory junk health insurance plans, leading New Hampshire to one of highest rates of individuals with health insurance coverage in America. To bring down electric rates, increase competition and reduce carbon emissions, she took on the big utility companies. Shaheen was the first New Hampshire Governor to lead international trade missions, increasing exports, strengthening New Hampshire’s tourism industry and encouraging new business and job growth.

She also expanded the rights of women and the LGBTQ community, with repeals of a century-old abortion ban and a ban on LGBT parents fostering or adopting children, as well as new bipartisan legislation that expanded insurance coverage for contraception and strengthened equal pay protections. 

In the U.S. Senate, Shaheen built a reputation, and a record, of working across the aisle, repeatedly helping to author and pass landmark legislation that ushered in historic investments in American infrastructure and domestic manufacturing, lowered premiums to make health insurance more affordable for patients, gave veterans new health care options closer to home outside the VA system, capped Medicare out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35, delivered critical federal resources to Granite State first responders on the frontlines of the substance use disorder epidemic and delivered urgent financial relief to Americans during the height of COVID-19. As the top Democrat on the Senate Small Business Committee, Senator Shaheen stood up for New Hampshire small businesses and helped create the Paycheck Protection Program, which was a lifeline for many during the pandemic.

For years, Senator Shaheen led efforts to reduce energy costs and protect clean air and water. She was an early voice calling for awareness of and leading action against dangerous PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water. Shaheen secured funding for the first health study on the danger of PFAS chemicals and got New Hampshire communities long-overdue answers about the potential health impacts of these chemicals to stop their spread. Using her longstanding bipartisan legislation with Senator Rob Portman as a blueprint, Shaheen secured important investments in the bipartisan infrastructure law to improve energy efficiency and reduce air pollution.

Senator Shaheen has long been a champion for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. During her tenure as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice, Senator Shaheen consistently delivered record-level funding for Violence Against Women Act Programs. Shaheen spearheaded historic legislation guaranteeing rights for survivors of sexual assault in federal cases, which was signed into law in 2016. Her efforts led to nearly two dozen states adopting similar legislation, including New Hampshire, as well as bipartisan legislation signed into law in 2023 ensuring all survivors, not just those in federal cases, would be protected.

As a key member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – and for years the only woman on the committee – Shaheen became known for her work to promote democracy and as one of the most powerful voices fighting to advance the rights of women and girls around the world. She rallied bipartisan support for Ukraine when it was clear Vladimir Putin was amassing troops on Ukraine’s border and again in the aftermath of Putin’s war of aggression. She served as international election monitor, pushed for democratic reforms globally and restarted the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group in 2018 to help strengthen the United States’ transatlantic bonds. The bipartisan Women, Peace and Security Act, which she authored, was signed into law in 2017, and put women at the negotiating table to resolve international conflict. Shaheen secured the largest one-time increase in the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program and has led the fight to keep the United States’ commitment to the brave Afghans who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with American troops throughout 20 years of war.

In every corner of New Hampshire there are concrete examples of Jeanne Shaheen’s leadership; funding she secured to widen I-93, to replace the Memorial and Sarah Long bridges, to open the Berlin prison, and to protect both Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as well as the Pease Air National Guard Base, the first Guard base to host the new KC-46 refueling tanker due to her advocacy. Shaheen created the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) to?help small businesses in New Hampshire and across the country?enter new markets, access export financing and attend trade missions. Her leadership has helped grow New Hampshire’s high-tech aerospace, defense, and biofabrication industry. 

Jeanne Shaheen was born in St. Charles, Missouri, the daughter of Ivan and Belle Bowers. A summer job following her graduation from Shippensburg University, brought her to New England where a chance encounter with Dover native Billy Shaheen outside a retail store led to a marriage now in its sixth decade, three daughters; Stefany, Stacey and Molly, and seven grandchildren.