Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is reportedly “taking a serious look” at running for U.S. Senate seat in the battleground state of Michigan in 2026, Axios writes. The seat will be available following the retirement of Sen.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she will not run for the open U.S. Senate that will be vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is eyeing a potential bid to represent Michigan in the US Senate after Democrat Gary Peters announced Tuesday he would not seek a third term, leaving open one of the most competitive seats in the 2026 cycle.

Buttigieg, who was mayor of South Bend, Indiana, moved to his husband Chasten’s home state of Michigan in 2020 after losing to President Biden in the Democratic primary that same year.

Pete Buttigieg and Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow are weighing whether to mount a campaign for Michigan’s Senate seat after Sen. Gary Peters announced he wouldn’t seek another term.

They will need to defend an open seat in a battleground state that President Trump carried in 2024. And Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ruled out a run.

Republican Michigan state Senate Leader Aric Nesbitt will draw from lessons learned from his humble beginnings and President-elect Donald Trump’s

Chasten and outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have three-year-old twins, Gus and Penelope. ‘Papa’s Coming Home’ focuses on kids JoJo and Rosie preparing for the arrival home of their papa. This includes baking him a cake and buying flowers.

The surprise decision Tuesday again complicates for Democrats in Michigan, who will be forced to defend an open seat in the battleground state for the second straight election cycle. Peters led the Democrats’ Senate campaign efforts from 2021 to 2025 and helped the party hold control of the chamber in 2022 before Republicans flipped it last year.

Former Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg presided over countless setbacks and catastrophic initiatives.

The Democratic former transportation secretary lives in Traverse City and could run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Gary Peters.