Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday that he would not run for the U.S. Senate or for governor in Michigan next year.
“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 wrote Thursday morning on X.
“While my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision for this alternative,” he wrote in a subsequent post.
In a post on Substack, Buttigieg wrote more about his decision-making process, saying he had “seriously” considered running for Michigan’s open Senate seat and governorship but adding, “My party has a deep and talented bench here in Michigan, and I am certain that we will nominate an outstanding candidate for each office.”
He also wrote, “I am simultaneously thankful to be away from Washington and yet also more motivated than ever to contribute to the future of this country.”
Passing on a Senate race and a run for governor sets Buttigieg up to be in the strongest position to run for president in 2028, a source familiar with his thinking said.
Running for office next year would have taken a potential 2028 campaign off the table, the source said, pointing to the Democratic Party’s post-2024 discussion about going to new places to reach new people, which the source said Buttigieg has been doing since he joined the national political scene and will continue to do.
Buttigieg ran for president in 2019, while he was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, raising his national profile and earning himself a spot in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.
In the waning days of the Biden administration, it was widely speculated that Buttigieg was considering running for governor in Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited.
During the Biden administration, Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, bought a house in Traverse City, Michigan, Chasten Buttigieg’s hometown, fueling speculation that Pete Buttigieg would consider running for elected office in the battleground state.
At the end of January, as Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, announced he wouldn’t run for re-election in 2026, Buttigieg’s name emerged as a top recruit for the seat. In the governor’s race, two candidates — Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson — have already launched campaigns in the Democratic primary.
Buttigieg even went so far as to meet recently with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about a potential bid for the Senate in Michigan, a source with knowledge of the meeting said this month.
Buttigieg’s decision not to run for the Senate leaves the race for the Democratic nomination wide open.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has for months been floated as a potential candidate in the Senate and governor’s contests. She signaled Thursday morning on X that she could announce her Senate campaign soon.
“Busy morning, huh? Thank you to everyone encouraging me to run for Senate. I’ll have more to share soon,” she wrote.
Later Thursday morning, a source with direct knowledge of her plans said McMorrow plans to announce her Senat
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