Michigan faces new Senate battle as Gary Peters opts against reelection

• US Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection in 2026
• Names are already flying as to who could replace him, biggest among them being ex-US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg 
• Democrats have held both of Michigan’s US Senate seats since 2001, a streak Republicans are no doubt hoping to end next November

LANSING — Michigan US Sen. Gary Peters will not seek reelection in 2026, the two-term Democrat announced Tuesday, calling it time to “turn over the reins” to a new generation of public servants and prompting immediate speculation about who could seek to replace him. 

“My service in the Congress has been the honor of my life,” Peters said in a video statement. “It has been a humbling responsibility given to me by the voters of the state that I love. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I believe my work has left our country a better place.”

The announcement sent shock waves through political circles in Michigan where the 66-year-old Bloomfield Township Democrat is the state’s seniormost US Senator following last year’s retirement of longtime colleague Debbie Stabenow. 

First elected to Congress in 2008, Peters has served two terms in the US Senate and three terms in the US House.

In his most recent election, Peters faced off against now-US Rep. John James in 2020, narrowly winning reelection by nearly two percent of the vote. Following that, Peters was named Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair and served in the role from 2021 through 2024 — where Democrats ended up losing their three year control of the US Senate.

Peters’ decision is “clearly not great news for Michigan,” said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist with Grassroots Midwest in Lansing. “In the span of two years, we’re basically going to vaporize all of our seniority in the US Senate.”

Like Stabenow before him, Peters has served on influential committees, including appropriations and auto policy panels. 

His departure could mean "a little less of everything" for Michigan, including a voice in policy and funding decisions, Hemond said. 

Who might run?

Peters’ announcement opens the field for what’s expected to be another fiercely competitive election in Michigan, where candidates are already lining up for the race to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

For the second cycle in a row, Republicans will have a chance to end a more than two-decade long streak of Democrats maintaining control over both Michigan’s US Senate seats.

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Hemond predicted Democratic candidates for the open Senate seat could include state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak, former US Transportation Secretary and 2016 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who moved to the Traverse City area in 2022, and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist of Detroit. 

One Democrat who apparently isn’t interested? Whitmer.

Whitmer is “grateful for Senator Peters’ service” but is “proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the Senate,” said a spokesperson for the governor’s Fight Like Hell PAC.

On the Republican side, Hemond said it was possible that former US Rep. Mike Rogers could run for Senate again after losing to Elissa Slotkin last year, or self-funded Republicans like businessmen Perry Johnson or Kevin Rinke. 

While it will undoubtedly take a lot of money to run in this race — last year’s contest between Slotkin and Rogers included more than $52 million in spending — Republicans will need more than just self-funders, said Andrea Bitely, founder of the Lansing-based Bitely Communications firm.

Name ID will play a huge role as well, she said, predicting GOP candidates could include Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, ex-Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox or former US Rep. Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids.

“Peters (has) given us essentially two years to fight this out, and it starts today,” said Bitely, a Republican. “I think we’re going to see a really, really active primary on both sides for this seat — and it’s really going to tell us how blue, purple or red Michigan is, since this is an ‘off’ year.’”

James, the Shelby Township Republican who ran for the seat before, hinted at the possibility of doing so again: "Brighter days are ahead for Michigan," he wrote on social media, where former GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon of Norton Shores also expressed interest. 

Other candidates reportedly considering a run include Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel of Plymouth, Democratic US Reps. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and Hillary Scholten of Grand Rapids, and Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga. 

What Democrats, Republicans are saying

Fellow Democrats praised Peters following his announcement. 

US Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, thanked Peters for being a “longtime friend and committed public servant,” writing in a statement that Michigan is “better thanks to his service, and I wish him the best in what he decides to do next."

Slotkin, meanwhile, referred to Peters as a mentor and dear friend “who has gone out of his way to help me and to get my office up and running over the last few months.”

“Gary Peters is a true public servant who has devoted his life to making Michigan and our country better,” she wrote in a statement. “I join millions of Michiganders in appreciating him for his decades of public service to our state and our nation.”

But nationally, Republicans were quick to hop on the news, with National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Tim Scott suggesting that Peters is “reading the room” and bowing out because of GOP momentum.

“Michigan is better off without him,” Scott said in a statement. “We’re committed to giving them a fighter that will stand with President Trump to restore the economic prosperity and security of our country."