So far 57 House lawmakers, 21 Democrats and 36 Republicans, have opted to run for another political position or retire. In the Senate, four Democrats and seven Republicans are choosing to leave for one reason or another, according to data compiled by Ballotpedia.
Jonathan K. Hanson, lecturer in public policy at the University of Michigan, said it can take a while for newer members to learn the policy landscape well enough to understand when to listen to outside influence and when not to.
"A person doesn't walk into Congress knowing how things work," he said. "And the more that you have people who are fresh, kind of green, don't know how to navigate the institution, the more power that special interests, lobbyists, so forth might have to influence the political process."
Hanson also said that "some generational change is a good thing."
