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.

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters won’t run for re-election in Michigan in 2026, creating a pivotal open Senate seat in one of the most tightly divided battleground states in the U.S.

Sen. Gary Peters' (D-Mich.) shock announcement Tuesday that he will not run for reelection has U.S. House members from Michigan in both parties sizing up potential runs for his seat. Why it matters: The race could get crowded fast,

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2026, leaving Congress at the end of his second term and opening up a highly competitive battleground Senate seat.

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

Mallory McMorrow, a state senator who won national Democratic acclaim in 2022 with a speech defending liberal values while identifying herself as a “straight, white, Christian, married suburban mom,” said she had not ruled out a run for either governor or the Senate.

Multiple Michigan Democrats had identified Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pete Buttigieg as top possible Democratic contenders for the Gary Peters seat.

In her new book, Jocelyn Benson targets 2026 gubernatorial rival Mike Duggan for trying to recruit a White male opponent to Gretchen Whitmer in 2018.

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.

Pete Buttigieg, 43, a former presidential candidate who's viewed as a rising star by many in Democratic politics, had been floated as a potential candidate for governor next year.