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Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday that he would not run for the U.S. Senate or for governor in Michigan next year.
“I care deeply about who Michigan will elect as Governor and send to the U.S. Senate next year, but I have decided against competing in either race,” Buttigieg wrote Thursday morning on X.
“While my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision for this alternative,” he wrote in a subsequent post.
In a post on Substack, Buttigieg wrote more about his decision-making process, saying he had “seriously” considered running for Michigan’s open Senate seat and governorship but adding, “My party has a deep and talented bench here in Michigan, and I am certain that we will nominate an outstanding candidate for each office.”
He also wrote, “I am simultaneously thankful to be away from Washington and yet also more motivated than ever to contribute to the future of this country.”
Passing on a Senate race and a run for governor sets Buttigieg up to be in the strongest position to run for president in 2028, a source familiar with his thinking said.
Running for office next year would have taken a potential 2028 campaign off the table, the source said, pointing to the Democratic Party’s post-2024 discussion about going to new places to reach new people, which the source said Buttigieg has been doing since he joined the national political scene and will continue to do.
Buttigieg ran for president in 2019, while he was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, raising his national profile and earning himself a spot in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.
In the waning days of the Biden administration, it was widely speculated that Buttigieg was considering running for governor in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited.
During the Biden administration, Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, bought a house in Traverse City, Michigan, Chasten Buttigieg‘s hometown, fueling speculation that Pete Buttigieg would consider running for elected office in the battleground state.
At the end of January, as Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, announced he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2026, Buttigieg’s name emerged as a top recruit for the seat. In the governor’s race, two candidates — Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson — have already launched campaigns in the Democratic primary.
Buttigieg even went so far as to meet recently with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about a potential bid for the Senate in Michigan, a source with knowledge of the meeting said this month.
Buttigieg’s decision not to run for the Senate leaves the race for the Democratic nomination wide open.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has for months been floated as a potential candidate in the Senate and governor’s contests. She signaled Thursday morning on X that she could announce her Senate campaign soon.
“Busy morning, huh? Thank you to everyone encouraging me to run for Senate. I’ll have more to share soon,” she wrote.
Later Thursday morning, a source with direct knowledge of her plans said McMorrow plans to announce her Senate bid next month.
Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., has also been floated as a potential Senate candidate. In an interview on MSNBC’s “Way Too Early” early last month, Stevens said she was considering running.
A source familiar with Stevens’ plans also said Thursday that she’s “actively considering” campaigning for the Senate and that she’s putting together a team to prepare to do so.
Another top Democrat in Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel, has consistently said she won’t run for governor next year.
But in an interview in February with the “MichMash” podcast, Nessel told host Alethia Kasben: “I had never even considered the United States Senate prior to [Peters’ retirement] announcement, and in all candor, I’ve been, as you might know, a little busy since that occurred. So I will just say this: I’m not ruling anything out, and I’m not ruling anything in.”
Kimberly Bush, a spokesperson for Nessel, told NBC News in a statement Thursday that Nessel “has grave concerns about the state of the union and remains committed to her work in protecting the people of Michigan from the many illegal, harmful and dangerous actions taken by the Trump Administration.”
Nessel “is still considering her options for what’s next in her career and how to best continue this work, but will not be deterred from the task at hand,” Bush added.
First-term Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., is already making moves behind the scenes to potentially launch a Senate bid and is seen as formidable, a Democratic strategist who has worked in the state and is plugged into conversations about the Senate race told NBC News.
Former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., whose retirement last year opened the door for the campaign of Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, told NBC News that she has spoken with McMorrow, Stevens and McDonald Rivet about running for the Senate.
“We have a very strong bench” in Michigan, Stabenow said, adding, “A number of our congresswomen are interested.”
She predicted “a very good Democratic year in 2026” regardless of what happens in a Democratic primary and added that anyone who makes it through the primary will have “the wind behind them.”
Both the governor and the Senate races next year are expected to be hotly contested. The state has cemented itself as a battleground over the last decade, most recently voting for President Donald Trump, a Republican, and Slotkin, a Democrat, last year. In 2020, the state backed Biden for president.
Republicans hope to flip the Governor’s Mansion and the Senate seat next year, though few GOP candidates have jumped into either race so far.
GOP state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt launched his campaign for governor this year. In the Senate contest, the 2024 Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, has floated running again. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey and Tudor Dixon, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor, have also been named as potential candidates in the Senate race.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, has launched an independent campaign for governor, seeking to bypass both primaries.
Alexandra Marquez is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Amanda Terkel is politics managing editor for NBC News Digital.
Henry J. Gomez is a senior national political reporter for NBC News
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