HILL STAFF VIEWS: Most Congressional Aides Expect to Change Jobs After Mid-Term Elections
(226 WORDS) — When CNCT Capitol Pulse surveyed congressional aides to ask them if they plan on moving to new jobs after the 2026 Mid-term elections, 43 percent of them replied in the affirmative.
But that doesn’t mean they will all be back on the Hill come January 2027!
Overall, 31 percent of the respondents said they expect to be in new jobs on the Hill in the new year, while 12 percent said they will be heading to fresh starts in positions off the congressional campus.
A fourth of the respondents, 26 percent, said they aren’t planning on going anywhere, unless, as could be the case, their boss gets moved to a different office suite. But guess what? The same percentage who said they will be back on the Hill but in new positions, 31 percent, said they are “playing it by ear.”
In other words, they might stick around on either the Senate or House side, or they may end up early in 2027 in an entirely different position, maybe in the executive branch or perhaps in a well-compensated K Street firm doing communications or networking.
Interestingly, the biggest group saying in the responses that they will be playing it by ear are Democrats at 44 percent, followed at 43 percent by GOP women. On the other hand, Senior Staffers at 43 percent make up the biggest chunk of those saying they plan on staying put.
And the largest segment of respondents on the planning to head off the Hill are also Democrats, including 44 percent of Junior Policy Democrats, 33 percent of Democrats over 30, and 19 percent of Democrats overall.
What makes this last result especially interesting is that it comes amid multiple historical precedents and recent voter projections favoring the Democrats to regain control of the House of Representatives in the Fall, and perhaps also the Senate.
Do these Democrats planning their post-election exits from the Hill know something the rest of us don’t about how voters will cast their ballots in November?