diff --git a/lib/ovsdb-idl.c b/lib/ovsdb-idl.c
index 46f51a527..82e003ac9 100644
--- a/lib/ovsdb-idl.c
+++ b/lib/ovsdb-idl.c
@@ -4255,8 +4255,8 @@ ovsdb_idl_loop_run(struct ovsdb_idl_loop *loop)
 {
     ovsdb_idl_run(loop->idl);
 
-    /* See if we can commit the loop->committing_txn. */
-    if (loop->committing_txn) {
+    /* See if the 'committing_txn' succeeded in the meantime. */
+    if (loop->committing_txn && loop->committing_txn->status == TXN_SUCCESS) {
         ovsdb_idl_try_commit_loop_txn(loop, NULL);
     }