Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced Tuesday that he won’t run for re-election in Michigan in 2026, creating a pivotal open-seat election next year in one of the most tightly divided swing states in the United States.
Peters made the announcement in an interview with The Detroit News, where he said he wouldn’t resign but won’t seek re-election because he “never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life.”
“I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation,” he told the paper.
“I think this is pretty normal for everybody to say, I’ve done a job, and I’m proud of the job I did, but there are other things I want to do in my life. There are other ways that I can give back to the community.”
Peters also released a video and press release announcing his decision.
Peters’ decision will have implications for the fight for control of the Senate in two years and, potentially, for Michigan’s closely watched race for governor. Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate, plus the tie-breaking vice presidency. Peters’ retirement in a state Donald Trump has twice won narrowly (and lost once) could add another degree of difficulty to his party’s efforts to win the majority.
Peters has repeatedly faced tough election fights in the competitive state. So while his race would have likely been competitive if he decided to run again, the open race only raises the likelihood of a competitive Senate election in Michigan next year, when it could be one of the top battlegrounds on the Senate map.
A big field of potential candidates for Senate and governor
It’s unclear who might run to replace Peters from either party. To the extent people in Michigan were looking forward to 2026 elections already, much of the attention in the state has been focused right now on the wide open race for governor, since two-term Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is term-limited.
Whitmer, in a statement issued by a spokesperson for her political group, Fight Like Hell, said she would not seek Peters’ seat.
“Governor Whitmer is grateful for Senator Peters’ service,” the spokesperson said. “She is proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the Senate.”
Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is the only major Democrat in the race for governor right now, while Michigan state Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt is the only major GOP candidate in the race. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a former Democrat, left the party and is mounting an independent bid.
But many potential candidates on both sides of the aisle were expected to consider running for governor. It’s possible this opening could sway some of those politicians to decide to mount a Senate bid instead.
On the Democratic side, possible gubernatorial contenders include Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who moved to the state a few years ago (his husband grew up in Michigan), and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate whose influence has grown in the state after a buzzy floor speech pushing back against Republicans who claimed her party wanted to indoctrinate children.
And the Republican side could get crowded too — there are a number of current or former GOP members of Congress who could be strong candidates if they decide to run, and candidates for governor in 2022 who may want to try to run again.
Now that the Senate race is open, it could serve as another release valve for pent-up political ambition among Michigan Democrats and Republicans.
GOP Rep. John James, for example, ran in two of the last three Senate elections in the state, though it’s unclear whether he’d want to run again this year. A Republican Senate strategist keeping tabs on the race told NBC News they’re keeping an eye specifically on James, as well as former Rep. Mike Rogers (who ran in 2024) and current Rep. Bill Huizenga.
Republican Rep. Lisa McClain, the House Republican Conference Chair, told reporters she wouldn’t run for Senate and she is “happy here” in the House.
A source familiar with Buttigieg’s thinking confirmed that he is “exploring all options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve.”
“He’s honored to be mentioned for this and he’s taking a serious look,” the source added.
Whether someone like Buttigieg decides to jump in could help shape the race as well.
McMorrow told NBC News that she is looking at both the gubernatorial and Senate races and plans to “have a number of conversations in the coming days about where I can do the most good for Michiganders.”
Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., who won her second term last fall in a Grand Rapids-area district, also is looking at the Senate race, according to a source close to her.
Dennis Lennox, a GOP consultant with extensive Michigan experience, noted that now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin enjoyed a relatively clear Democratic primary field in her successful bid to succeed the retiring former Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
“Democrats in Michigan are institutionally stronger and clearing the field will help their eventual nominee,” said Lennox, who mentioned Buttigieg as a strong candidate.
Lennox went on to mention James as a potential candidate for either post and wondered if Rep. John Moolenaar or Huizenga would want to give up their House seats if James doesn’t run for Senate.
“There isn’t much of a Republican bench, although Michigan is one of those states where there’s perennially an outside business kind of candidate who self-funds,” he said, mentioning former RNC and Michigan GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel as a “wild card” possibility.
Peters’ rise in politics
Peters told The Detroit News he wouldn’t run for another public office in 2026 and is focused on finishing his Senate term.
A former state senator, Naval Reserve officer and head of the state’s lottery, Peters arrived in Washington in 2009 after defeating a GOP incumbent in an Oakland County-area House race. He won a tough re-election in 2010 amid the Republican wave that year before winning a difficult Democratic primary after redistricting threw him into a district with another incumbent.
He then won a campaign to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Carl Levin in 2014, earning a second term in a hard-fought race against James in 2020.
Peters holds pivotal committee posts in the Senate, on the Appropriations, Armed Services and Commerce, Science and Transportation committees. And he served two stints leading the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Under his leadership in 2022, Democrats expanded their majority in an election cycle many had expected would be difficult for his party.
Two years later, Democrats lost control of the Senate. Besides losing seats in deep-red West Virginia in 2024, Montana and Ohio, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey also lost in Pennsylvania, but Democrats kept Senate seats in other battlegrounds Trump won, including Michigan.
