Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to reveal on Thursday that he’s not going to run for the open Senate seat in Michigan, clearing the way for a potential bid for the White House in 2028.
One person briefed on the decision not to join the Senate campaign shared the news with Politico. A number of allies noted that the move would put the former 2020 presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, mayor in a stronger position to run for president in the next Democratic primary, as running campaigns in 2026 and 2028 would be challenging.
Buttigieg said recently that he had been “looking” at a Senate campaign, and that he had a meeting with Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the party is working to hold on to the swing state seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Republicans hope to flip the seat after nearly winning the state’s other Senate seat in the last election.
Buttigieg moved to Traverse City, Michigan, along with his husband and children after four years in the Biden cabinet. Those in his inner circle told Politico that the workload of being in the Cabinet, the travel that accompanies such a job, and the idea of starting a campaign soon after, affected the decision not to run for the Senate.
Buttigieg also opted not to run for Michigan governor even as polling revealed he would have had a good starting position in a primary for the job.
David Axelrod, who helped shepherd former President Barack Obama’s two campaigns for the highest office, said he spoke to Buttigieg on Wednesday.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport November 21, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia. He’s reportedly set to announce that he’s not running for the open senate seat in Michigan (Getty Images)
“The hardest decision in politics is to pass on a race you have a very good chance to win,” Axelrod told Politico.
“Pete was an A-list recruit and would have been a formidable candidate for the Senate had he chosen to run,” he added. “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.”
“Beyond that, I have a sense that he wanted to spend more time with his family, and with people in communities like his, where the conversations and concerns are so different than the ones you hear in the echo chamber of Washington,” said Axelrod.
The former mayor’s decision not to run for the open seat in a state won by President Donald Trump in November reshapes the upcoming race, with State Sen. Mallory McMorrow having told other Democrats in the state that she will run for the office. Rep. Haley Stevens has also made moves towards running for the seat, such as hiring staff.
Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii spoke to Buttigieg on several occasions as he made his decision.
“He wanted to decide quickly enough to give other folks a chance to mobilize if they wanted to run,” Schatz told Politico. “He handled it responsibly. He’s a rising star in the Democratic Party.”
In a hypothetical 2028 race, Buttigieg is only polling behind former Vice President and 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who’s considering whether she will run for governor of California in 2026.
