A testy U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen did not like a national reporter’s question about her age and the upcoming 2026 election cycle, and suggested in her response she’s the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s only option.
Political news outlets have kept up a steady drumbeat of stories raising questions about the senior senator’s future and the headaches she’s creating for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Should Shaheen choose to run, she would be just three weeks shy of 80 if sworn in for a fourth term.
Axios ran a story Thursday headlined “Schumer’s Private Plea to Senate Dems Who are Weighing Retirement,” reporting on Democrats’ growing desperation as their path to a 2026 majority narrows and more incumbents announce they’re retiring. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota surprised many when she announced she’s not running again, though her seat is widely viewed as safe.
More problematic was Sen. Gary Peters’ decision not to seek another term in the swing state of Michigan, carried by Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024.
Of the five Senate races considered competitive in 2026 (Georgia, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, and New Hampshire), the only senator who has yet to announce whether they’re running again is Shaheen.
“She has publicly questioned her future, and multiple sources tell us she hasn’t privately indicated whether she plans to run,” Axios reports.
NOTUS, the newsroom of the nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute, followed up Friday with an analysis of the 2026 Senate field: Democratic Senators Concede Age Matters in Elections — Just Don’t Ask Them If They’re Too Old to Run.
“When NOTUS asked Shaheen about the discussion within the Democratic Party about bringing in a younger generation of leaders — and noted that an open seat in her state would certainly have interested candidates — she interjected and insisted twice that this reporter ‘name three,’” Ursula Perano reported.
“When this reporter did not, she replied, ‘Well, there you are.’”
Shaheen’s staff apparently realized that was an impolitic response, and a follow up statement was issued from the senator.
“The trust the people of New Hampshire have placed with me is a tremendous honor that I take very seriously — and in the coming months, I’ll be having conversations with folks in every corner of the Granite State about the challenges and opportunities we’re facing. I love representing New Hampshire and there will be plenty of time for conversations about 2026 later this year.”
A more knowledgeable reporter could have easily offered three names on the U.S. Senate short list, beginning with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas. Many observers believe he would be a strong candidate to fill a Senate vacancy. Also on the list: Failed 2024 candidate for governor, former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig; newcomer U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander; and Shaheen’s own daughter Stefany, who has been the subject of speculation for years about following in her mother’s footsteps.
Echoing that speculation is the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, which just released it’s first analysis of the 2026 field.
“In the Granite State, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) has not announced whether she’ll seek a fourth term, although her recent fundraising does not suggest that she is,” write Kyle Klondik and J. Miles Coleman. “If Shaheen retires, Rep. Chris Pappas (D, NH-1), who has held down the more competitive of the state’s two districts with relative ease since 2018, would be a name to watch, as would Stefany Shaheen, the incumbent’s daughter who previously served as a local official in Portsmouth.”
The conversation about the senator’s future is far from over, political observers say. And Shaheen’s uncharacteristic silence — she had announced her candidacy by this point in her two previous reelection bids — is raising more questions about her plans.
Longtime Granite State political strategist Tom Rath says Shaheen has plenty of time to make her final decision.
“Jeanne Shaheen, last I checked, has nearly two years left in her term,” he told NHJournal. “Given the level of leadership and seniority she has now achieved in the hierarchy of the Senate, you could argue that, at this moment, she is as significant a member of that body as New Hampshire has had in years. That is an asset for the state and we should not be giving it away too early.”
Shaheen declined to answer questions about the latest round of reporting, or about the speculation surrounding her age.
Some Republicans believe that, far from being the strongest Democratic candidate, Shaheen is the one person who can put the Senate seat at risk in a state that hasn’t backed a GOP candidate for federal office since 2014. With another Democrat as the nominee, the race would be decided by partisanship, where Democrats have a clear advantage.
If Shaheen is the nominee, the argument goes, the campaign is entirely about age and the capacity to serve for another six years.
Rath doesn’t agree.
“When she ran for reelection we knew how old she was and how old she would be at the end of her term. And she won easily,” Rath said. “Were she to go again, we would know these facts again and can then decide accordingly. There is no need or reason for her to announce too soon.”
The difference, some Republicans say, is Joe Biden. The Democrats’ 2024 fiasco — New Hampshire giving him a pass on the presidential primary, Biden locking down the nomination, then his humiliating exit from the race — has focused voters on the age and ability issue more than in the past.
“Democrats are walking into another ‘Joe Biden’ moment,” one New Hampshire Republican said on background. “By the time they realize Shaheen’s age is a problem, it may be too late.”
It’s an issue that could play well for the current GOP frontrunner, former ambassador and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown. In 2014, Brown narrowly lost to Shaheen as a recent transplant from Massachusetts. And while it’s true that the 65-year-old Brown doesn’t represent a youth movement, he’s an energetic candidate who spends his spare time fronting a rock and roll band, Scott Brown and the Ambassadors. It’s a contrast Republicans relish.
Brown also has the advantage of having both served in the Trump administration — which appeals to the base — while also having been the target of Trump’s ire after he criticized his former boss’s performance on January 6. And Brown is from the more moderate wing of the GOP, making him a more appealing candidate to Granite State independents.
“The stunning implosion of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has dramatically heightened the stakes for candidates seeking to run at an advanced age,” a New Hampshire GOP insider told NHJournal on background.
“Jeanne Shaheen has served in elective office since 1990. The Billboard #1 song the week of that year’s election was Vanilla Ice’s ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ and the 1990 Best Picture Oscar was awarded to ‘Driving Miss Daisy’. Should she choose to run once again, fair questions will include not only whether she is still up to the task but also whether she’s simply been in office for too long.”
The issue of Shaheen’s age was a topic on Mark Halperin’s popular Morning Meeting program on 2Way Friday morning.
“If Jeanne Shaheen doesn’t run, that’s the point where you (Democrats) say, ‘We just let them keep the majority for two more years. That’s what you call a ‘rebuilding year,'” said former Trump White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.
“If she doesn’t run, I have two words for you: ‘Senator Lewandowski,” Halperin joked.
