A record number of senators are ready to flee Capitol Hill and run for governor in the 2026 election cycle, the most since 1797.

The trend of senators transitioning to governors is due to frustration with Congress’s ineffectiveness, according to Patricia Crouse, a practitioner in residence of public administration and political science at the University of New Haven.

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“Congress has been relatively ineffective for many years, under both Democratic and Republican Presidents,” Crouse said. “I think for some of these people, sort of the expectation of what it was going to be like to be in Congress and the reality of what it’s like to be in Congress were very different.”

Not every senator’s gubernatorial bids have the same political dynamics. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has the most political skin in the game because he is leaving the Senate after a single six-year term to run for governor.

“Whether you like him or not, he’s very outspoken in Congress, and people in his state may appreciate that,” Crouse said. “He’s one of those people that, I think, he’s just trying new things.”

Two others will still have their Senate seats to fall back on. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) still has 3 1/2 years left in his term. If he loses the gubernatorial race, he can keep his job in the Senate, with the Democrat saying in his campaign ad for governor that changes will not come from “broken politics practiced in Washington. … That’s why I’m running for governor.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), an all-but-declared gubernatorial candidate, just won reelection to the Senate in 2024.

“For some of these people, they run for governor, they lose, they go back to Congress,” Crouse said. “It’s a win-win situation.”

What may also be attracting the senators is the simple hope of accomplishing something. While Crouse admitted that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is not the best model of what you want to be as a governor, he does seem to get much of the credit, good or bad, for what happens in his state, leading others to believe they can possibly do more for their voters as governors than senators.

“I think for some it just has to do with thinking they can accomplish more as a governor, which they probably can, than being in the Senate or the House,” Crouse said. “I think people in Congress can see that, ‘I can be the voice of the people who actually voted for me. I don’t think that’s happening right now in Congress. I think the image of a governor is a little bit more positive right now than the image of anybody in Congress.’”

Going from the Senate to a statehouse is relatively rare in the 21st century. Gov. Mike Braun (R-IN) in 2024 took the route Tuberville now seeks: forgoing reelection to seek the governor’s mansion. In 2010, then-Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican, declined to run for reelection to the Senate after nearly 14 years there and instead won the governorship.

There are several reasons governors are more likely to make the move to the Senate instead of the reverse, such as better odds, with twice as many Senate seats as governorships, and senators getting a longer term, six years instead of four. The biggest reason is that governors are term-limited, while senators are not. Crouse says this is the key reason the legislative branch has become inefficient.

“Two terms as a governor is sufficient, and it works well,” Crouse said. “Unpopular as it is, I believe Congress should be term-limited in some way. I don’t know how you do that, but I do believe that it would function better if we had term limits.”

Crouse said she believes governors have to place a higher importance on their voters’ trust. Governors who fail to deliver on their promises are more likely to be voted out, meaning senators do not seem to learn their lesson or face consequences from voters for any lack of accomplishment.

“If voters feel like governors have betrayed the trust they’ve put in them, or they voted for them to do something in office, and a governor doesn’t, most likely governors will be voted out,” Crouse said. “Then you look at Congress, where we have a reelection rate for incumbents of about 95%.”

When it comes to reaching across the aisle and making nice, Crouse said she believes it is easier to do on the state level.

“I do think it’s much easier on the state level, and as a governor, to bring the parties together,” Crouse said. “When you have states that are considered relatively blue and they elect a Republican governor, it really is because of issues as opposed to voting for the party in particular.”

The courts, barely discussed in the Constitution, have also leapfrogged Congress in importance.

“Congress isn’t doing their job, in essence, so somebody has to step in, and that’s been the courts,” Crouse said.

Whether it was former President Joe Biden’s push to cancel student loans, the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or Trump’s immigration and National Guard fight, the courts seem to be the final decision-makers.

“The courts have just been relegated to the decision makers because of a lack of decision-making coming from Congress,” Crouse said. “I do think Congress has really sort of abdicated a lot of their power to the president right now in these decisions.  Decisions seem to be made by executive order, and executive orders aren’t meant to be ways to make policy. They’re usually used when you just simply can’t get something accomplished through Congress. The courts have just been put in this position of having to make these decisions. I don’t think they’re happy about it.”

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Another possible advantage is that, in the past, governors have been seen as having a leg up in nabbing the presidency. At one point in relatively recent political history, 4 in 5 presidents won the White House as sitting or former governors: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Whether a higher position of power is in view or just the frustration of legislative gridlock, staying closer to home may be a more appealing option for those looking to make a difference to their constituents.

Joshua Spivak contributed to this report.