However, former President Joe Biden’s transportation chief is set to declare on Thursday that he will not compete in Michigan’s 2026 Senate race, news reported by Politico. Buttigieg has also taken himself out of consideration to replace outgoing Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), setting himself up as a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. 

Buttigieg “would have been a formidable candidate for the Senate had he chosen to run,” Democratic strategist David Axelrod said. “But had he won in ’26, it would almost certainly have taken him out of the conversation for ’28. This certainly keeps that option open.” 

Democratic contenders on the list to replace Peters include Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).

A lifelong Indiana resident who moved to Michigan in 2022, Buttigieg had been rumored to be mulling a Senate run in Michigan since January, reportedly meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to discuss his options after Peters’s unexpected retirement announcement.

WHO IS PETE BUTTIGIEG? MEET ONE OF THE SIX TOP NAMES ON HARRIS’S VP SHORT LIST

Buttigieg joins Govs. Whitmer, Gavin Newsom (D-CA), and Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) as Democrats who are viewed as viable contenders for the 2028 presidential election.

He already has one presidential bid under his belt. During the 2020 Democratic primary, he performed well in Iowa and New Hampshire before seeing disappointing results in the South Carolina primary and dropping out to endorse Biden.