Former Transport Secretary Pete Battigeg met with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. as he is considering fighting for Michigan's 2026 Senate race.
The two met last week and it could potentially run for the seat of resigning Gary Peters in Trump-Won Won Pivotal Swing State, a source familiar to Fox News Digital.
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Pete Battigegg met with Chuck Schumer as he contemplated Senate bids in Michigan. (Reuters)
Schumer's Office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
The meeting was first reported by Politico.
The 43-year-old Buttigieg, formerly mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has launched a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Fans lovingly called him “Mayor Pete” as he surged from long shots to candidates for nominations. Since his White House ran, Buttigieg has remained popular within the Democrats as one of its young stars.
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US Transit Director Pete Battigigue watches in South Bend, Indiana, ahead of the first round of playoff match between the Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Ireland on December 20, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium. (Michael Reeves/Getty Images)
The Millennial Democrat was later chosen to serve as President Biden's Secretary of Transportation.
Shortly after Peters was revealed in January, he did not seek reelection. A source familiar with Battigee's ideas told Fox News Digital, “Pete is exploring all the options as to how he can help and continue to serve.”
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US Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) will speak on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held in Chicago, Illinois, USA on August 20, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)
“He is honored to mention this and is taking it seriously.”
Peters announced his retirement to Detroit News, telling the outlet, “I always thought there would be a time to step aside and hand over the next generation of reins, and I've never seen you do any service in Congress for the rest of your life.”
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US Secretary of Transport Pete Battigeg will visit the shipping terminal at Honmoku Pier in Yokohama, Japan on Monday, June 19, 2023. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“And that goes back to 2008 when I first won that House seat. I thought it was a matter of some conditions I serve, so I'm going back to my personal life,” he added.
In addition to Buttigieg, Sen. Mallory McMorrow could launch a democratic campaign. McMorrow attracted public attention in 2022 after giving a floor speech in the Michigan Senate, which was considered a model to counter the GOP attack.
Other Democrats who expressed interest in running include two-term Michigan Attorney General Dana Nesse and Haley Stevens.
Former Mike Rodgers announced at the end of January that he was “strongly considering” a second Republican in the Michigan Senate.
Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senator nomination in Michigan, but was slightly defeated by Democratic nominee Rep. Elissa Slotkin in the Democratic election last November for the long-time Senator of retired Senator Debbie Stavenow. Slotkin, who had far surpassed the Rogers, framed him with about 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.
Rogers was a former FBI special agent and later chaired the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress.
Rogers was the first Republican to publicly move forward towards launching the 2026 Senate campaign in Michigan, but GOP sources told Fox News last month that the others considering running were Rep. John James.
Michigan Senate race is considered a “toss-up” by top nonpartisan political handicappers Cook political reports.
Republicans now control Senate 53-47 after flipping four seats from blue to red in the last November election.
The party in power – obviously Republicans now – has traditionally faced political headwinds in medium-term elections. Nevertheless, an early reading of the 2026 map shows that the GOP could potentially be able to launch an attack in some critical states.
In addition to Michigan, Republicans will target combat sites in Georgia. There, First Democrat Sen. John Ossoff is considered vulnerable.
And in the swing state of New Hampshire, longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has yet to say whether he will seek another term in the Senate for reelection next year.
And GOP is focusing on Minnesota, a blue disease. There, last month, Democrat Sen. Tina Smith announced he would not seek re-election in 2026.
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But Republicans are also defending themselves in the 2026 cycle.
Democrats plan to launch an attack for moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins to reelection.
Democrats are looking at Ohio's Red Ohio, where Republican Lieutenant Colonel John Husted was appointed in January to take over Vice President J.D. Vance in the Senate. Husted will run next year to end the Vance term.
