Loudermilk Says He Won’t Seek Reelection to Congress

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) announced on Feb. 4 that he is not seeking reelection to Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.

In a press release, Loudermilk said he was retiring to spend more time with his family as well as continue public service in other ways. He’s expected to leave in January 2027, after serving Georgians for more than a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I first ran for election to Congress in 2014 and, as I stated then, representing the people in Congress is a service, not a career,” Loudermilk wrote in a statement posted on his congressional website. “While serving my constituents in Congress ranks among my greatest honors, being a husband, a father, and a grandfather holds even greater importance to me; and at this time, I wish to spend more dedicated time with my family.”

Loudermilk represents Georgia’s 11th congressional district, which covers the cities of Marietta and Calhoun as well as the northwestern part of Atlanta’s metropolitan area.

He also serves as the chairman of the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on Jan. 6, which was formed in September 2025 to investigate security failures that led to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In that role, he has led the subcommittee’s investigation of an incident the day before, when pipe bombs were placed near the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees.

Loudermilk’s seat has a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of “Solid R” and a score of “R+12,” meaning that it leans heavily Republican. In the 2024 presidential election, President Donald Trump earned 61 percent of the vote in the district.

Loudermilk joins a growing list of members of Congress who are not seeking reelection at the end of the 119th Congress. His retirement further tightens the contest for control of the House, where Republicans have a one-seat majority after Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) was sworn in on Feb. 2.

In Georgia, two of Loudermilk’s Republican colleagues—Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter—are retiring from the House and vying to replace Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). Loudermilk was first elected to Congress during the 2014 midterm elections, a cycle that saw Republicans sweep control of both houses of Congress.

Before joining Congress, he served several terms in both houses of the Georgia General Assembly. Loudermilk served in the U.S. Air Force and ran a business before entering politics.