Rep. Sam Graves, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is joining a growing list of lawmakers deciding not to seek reelection this year.

“After considerable reflection, 2026 will be my final year in Congress,” Graves, 62, said in a Friday statement. “This wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s the right one. I believe in making room for the next generation. It’s time to pass the torch and allow a new guard of conservative leaders to step forward and chart a path forward for Missourians.”     

News of Graves’ retirement was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. 

The 13-term congressman from Missouri’s 6th District has served as the top Republican on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee since 2019, first as ranking member and then taking over the chairmanship in 2023. In his tenure on the panel, Graves oversaw passage of key legislative efforts including the 2021 infrastructure law, the 2024 Water Resources Development Act and the 2024 Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization.

He earned another legislative win this week as his committee and the House Armed Services Committee, where Graves is also a member, both sent his aviation safety package, known as the ALERT Act, to the full House for consideration. That bill is the House’s response to the January 2025 collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing all 67 people on both aircraft.

In announcing his retirement, Graves said his post atop the Transportation committee was the culmination of his career, allowing him to pass “some of the most significant legislation in our nation’s history.”

Still, Graves said, “What I’m most proud of is the work my team did when Washington made life harder for the people of Missouri’s Sixth.” 

A lifelong resident of Tarkio in northwestern Missouri, where he was raised on his family’s farm, Graves served two years in the Missouri House and six years in the state Senate before running for and winning Democratic Rep. Pat Danner’s seat in Congress. 

His work in Congress has shown to be popular with his constituents, who have elected and reelected him with largely overwhelming margins for 13 cycles. Other than one competitive race in 2008, Graves consistently received more than 65 percent of the vote. 

“The responsibility entrusted to me is not something I have ever taken for granted,” he said of his service. “Not for a single day.” 

As Graves looks toward the end of his time in Congress, the Transportation committee is set to take up another major reauthorization of the federal highway bill in the coming weeks. 

Despite his impending retirement, he said he would “fight to protect Missouri interests” in the bill and that he plans to “finish this last term the same way I started, full speed ahead.” 

Transportation committee ranking member Rick Larsen, D-Wash., has been a longtime collaborator. In a Friday statement, Larsen said the House “is losing a fierce advocate for infrastructure investment and transportation safety,” noting Graves’ years of legislative work and the recent advancement of their aviation safety bill. “Only Sam’s steady, good-faith leadership could have notched these wins in a Congress that often rewards partisanship over partnership,” he said. 

“Although the House is losing Sam, his family is getting him back,” Larsen added. “I have always said that Sam likes three things in life: his grandkids, vintage aircraft and Congress. In that order.”

It’s unclear who might succeed Graves as Republican leader on the committee, although The Wall Street Journal reported that Graves thought Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., was best positioned. 

Primary candidates

Graves’ decision not to seek reelection adds him to a growing list of lawmakers retiring next year and comes just four days before the March 31 deadline for candidates in Missouri to file for the midterm elections.

He faced a primary challenge from Jim Ingram, a veteran and retired small-business owner. 

On Friday, hours after Graves’ decision became public, nationally syndicated conservative radio host Chris Stigall announced that he was leaving his show and launching his own run for the seat.

“After prayer … and careful consideration with my family on this 250th anniversary of our great country … I’ve decided it’s time to join in the fight,” Stigall said. “President Trump is going to need all the reinforcements he can get in Washington, and that’s why I’ve decided I’m going to leave my show, I’m going to leave this microphone, and I’m going to enter the arena today.”

Others could enter the race as well, including Kansas City councilman Nathan Willett, a Republican who is seeking a state Senate seat. Asked earlier this week if he would run, before Graves’ announcement, Willett told Fox 4 in Kansas City that Graves has been a friend and mentor to him. 

The Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia in 2025 ranked Graves the most effective House Republican lawmaker of the 118th Congress, giving him a “legislative effectiveness score” seven times higher than the average House member. 

Valerie Yurk contributed to this story.