Well, how about that?
A little bit of a political curveball was thrown on Tuesday morning when two-term United States senator from the state of Michigan, Gary Peters, announced he would not seek a third term in November of 2026. which I first read about right HERE…
Gary Peters, Michigan’s senior senator and a former congressman, said he won’t seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027.
In an exclusive interview, the Bloomfield Township Democrat told The Detroit News that he is ready to leave public office in two years and move onto a “new chapter” that includes spending more time with his family ― particularly a new grandchild who lives on the West Coast.
“I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation. I also never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life,” said Peters, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014.
This was not on anybody’s radar that I have talked to who deals in Michigan politics.
The very idea that someone who is not near dead is walking away from a near-assured win and re-election to one of only 100 seats in the country is shocking.
Peters was a strong incumbent for no other reason other than he was a Democrat in a blue state that elects Democrats statewide as a knee-jerk reaction. Analysis of his chances of reelection (if he had run) and his early departure follow from said article.
Kyle Kondik at the University of Virginia Center for Politics said he likely would have rated Peters’ seat a “leans” Democrat if the senator were running for a third term, but his decision to retire makes the race more of a tossup.
It also puts Michigan Democrats in a position in 2026 of defending four statewide offices ― the governorship, secretary of state, attorney general and now an open U.S. Senate seat, Kondik noted. However, Republicans haven’t won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan since 1994.
“Sometimes you can interpret retirements as sending a signal about the overall political situation, and Peters was the DSCC chair the last two cycles,” Kondik said, referring to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.
“Does this tell us anything about Democratic pessimism about winning the Senate back? Certainly in 2026, unless it’s like a mega wave, the seats just aren’t there.”
I had already covered some of the statewide analysis leading into 2026 with my article last week here at RedState with this piece on the upcoming governor’s race in 2026.
Democrat Jocelyn Benson Announces Run for Michigan Governor, and She Is the Favorite to Win So Far
Donald Trump won the state in 2016 by just over 11,000 votes, 47.6 percent to 47.4 percent, and in 2024 by 80 thousand, or 49.7 percent to 48.3, which of course were historic wins. This is not because they were blowout victories by any stretch of the imagination but because Michigan is a very blue state and has been for two decades going on three.
The Michigan GOP and its stalwarts have been screaming from the mountaintops to anyone who will listen that the force known as Donald Trump somehow is single-handedly turned the tide in the state of Michigan to become a red state or at the very best purple.
Yet history shows a different story from a long-term standpoint.
We have NOT elected a conservative as governor here since John Engler in 1998. Rick Snyder winning as a Republican was adorable as a GOPer, but as the kids on social media like to yell, he was RINO, and he actually was.
On the United States Senate side, we had a close race here back in 2024 with Republican Mike Rogers (who was endorsed by President Trump) losing to Elissa Slotkin by 19,006, or 48.6 percent to 48.3 percent, which was really close. Rogers was not Donald Trump though, so he ended up losing.
That happens here a lot to statewide Republicans not named Trump it seems.
Peters was a very vanilla candidate and elected official but did follow a strict liberal dogma in his voting patterns both in the Senate and while he was in the House of Representatives. He was consistent only in that manner, and he will be missed by the Democrats as a consistent, solid vote for their leftist policies.
Now the real fun begins on who the Democrats and the Republicans in the Great Lake State will nominate to compete for the seat in just under two years. Open Senate seats are a bit of a rarity in this country, and being that there are only 100 of them, approximately only 33 are up for bid every two years — an open one here in Michigan will be a firefight.
I would caution Michigan Republicans who assume that they can just chalk this one up to a Republican. The Michigan GOP has to select a chairperson next month, and that will be a minor blood bath with some who think that anyone saying Donald Trump’s name magically can win a state that only Donald Trump has won twice — in 2016 by 11,000 votes and last year by 80,000. Trump, of course, is NOT on the ballot next year and will never be again, so that really should be taken into consideration.
I do have hope that the party can get in shape in time for November of 2026 and get organized enough to make a good showing in the mid-term of a president’s second term. However, I know a lot of people who had hopes for the Detroit Lions after having a great regular season, too.
History has a way of repeating itself.
