Overview
- Vern Buchanan, 74, said he will not seek reelection and will serve out his term while remaining vice chair of Ways and Means and chair of its Health Subcommittee.
- Buchanan told Florida Politics he wants to “pass the torch” to new local leaders and rejected the notion that a difficult political climate drove his decision.
- He becomes at least the 28th House Republican to forgo a 2026 reelection bid, joining a growing wave of departures reported across the conference.
- Florida’s 16th District has been reliably Republican — Trump carried it by about 15 points in 2024 — though an open race and statewide redistricting could reshape the contest.
- The retiring congressman declined to endorse a successor; his son, state Rep. James Buchanan, is not expected to run, and a crowded field of regional Republicans is already being discussed.