Pete Buttigieg says he won’t run for Senate, leaving door open for possible White House bid

Washington — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday he won’t seek an open Senate seat in Michigan next year, keeping the door open for a possible White House bid in 2028. 

“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 said in a post on X Thursday.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who served as transportation secretary under the Biden administration and recently moved to Michigan, said earlier this month that he was considering entering the race for the open seat. Democratic Sen. Gary Peters said in January that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2026. 

Peters’ surprise announcement opened up a key seat in the battleground state. Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin won her Senate seat in November in another open race, but Michiganders also elected President Trump. And the race is expected to be among a handful that will determine control of the Senate after the GOP secured a trifecta in the 2024 elections. 

Buttigieg, 43, sought the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election, facing off against a wide field of Democrats. Buttigieg saw an early boost when he came out on top in the Iowa Caucuses, but he bowed out of the race as the party coalesced around former President Joe Biden.

Buttigieg said earlier this month on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” when asked about the possible run for the Michigan Senate seat that he was “looking at it.”

The former transportation secretary said at the time that he plans to “continue to work on the things that I care about,” adding that he had “not decided what that means professionally” or “whether that means running for office soon or not.”

“But I will make myself useful,” Buttigieg added.