Buttigieg mulling Senate bid after nixing play for Michigan governor

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is said to be considering a bid for the Senate following Sen. Gary Peters’s (D-Mich.) decision not to seek reelection.

Buttigieg confirmed he was “very seriously focused” on a bid for the Senate seat, according to The Detroit News. 

“I think Pete is somebody that a lot of people will encourage to run,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told the outlet.

Speculation about Buttigieg’s political ambitions come as the state’s senior lawmaker, Peters, said he would not seek re-election in 2026.

Several others have seemingly expressed interest in the race.

Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow.

“It could be a very large primary or small primary. I don’t know. But I think it will probably be a spirited primary,” Stabenow (D-Mich.) told  The Detroit News.