Pete Buttigieg Passes on Senate Run To Plan Presidential Bid: Report
Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to announce Thursday that he will not run for Michigan's open Senate seat as he positions himself for another presidential bid in 2028.
Buttigieg, who ran a failed presidential campaign in 2020, is looking to strengthen his White House prospects by avoiding back-to-back campaigns in 2026 and 2028, his allies told Politico's Adam Wren.
The decision comes after Buttigieg, who moved to Michigan in 2022, acknowledged that he had been "looking" at a Senate campaign and even met in late February with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). Buttigieg recently also opted out of a run for Michigan governor.
"Pete was an A-list recruit and would have been a formidable candidate for the Senate had he chosen to run," said Democratic operative David Axelrod, who talked with Buttigieg on Wednesday. "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."
Polling, however, suggests that Buttigieg would likely have struggled in the Senate race. A recent Epic MRA poll found Buttigieg trailing potential Republican candidate Mike Rogers by 6 percentage points—41 percent to 47 percent. A Plymouth Union Public Research poll, meanwhile, found that most Michiganders don't even know that Buttigieg had moved to the state.
Even before Buttigieg's exit, Republicans considered Michigan a prime pickup opportunity, having almost flipped the battleground state's other Senate seat in the last election. President Donald Trump carried Michigan in 2024.
Other Democrats expressing interest in 2028 include California governor Gavin Newsom and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel.
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