Minutes after two-term Sen. Gary Peters, D.-Mich., made the surprise announcement Tuesday morning that he would not seek re-election in 2026, the odds on Republicans keeping their present majority, 53-47, in the senate shot up.
Although Peters won two very close races in 2014 and 2020, his exit means that with no incumbent and possibly a hard-fought Democrat primary to succeed him, Republicans have an outstanding chance of electing the first Republican senator from Michigan since 1994.
No sooner had Peters made his announcement than GOP eyes in the Water-Winter Wonderland and Washington, D.C., focused on near-successful 2024 Senate nominee Mike Rogers.
A onetime chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and radio-TV commentator, Rogers lost the closest race in Michigan's history of popular senate elections to liberal Democrat Elaine Slotkin.
With more than 5 million votes cast, Rogers was edged out by a microscopic 19,006 votes, or a margin of 48.64% to 48.30%.
Rogers has yet to say whether he will run for Peters' seat, but with an organization in place and statewide name recognition, he would be the odds-on favorite for nomination.
The only other name mentioned for the GOP nomination is that of two-term Rep. John James, who lost to Peters in 2020. The Oakland County lawmaker, one of four House Republicans who happen to be black, has reportedly been eyeing a race for governor in '26.
Among Democrats, former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg told reporters he was taking a "serious look" at the senate race. Although 2020 presidential hopeful Buttigieg held office in Indiana, he recently bought a home in Michigan with husband Chasten (a native of the state).
Any of the Democrats in statewide office now running or pondering a race to succeed lame duck Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could easily switch to the senate race and save the party a brutal gubernatorial primary. These include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel, both of whom are considered arch-liberals in the mold of Whitmer.
Michigan Republicans, after years of statewide defeat in Michigan, carried the state for President Trump in '24 and captured the state House of Representatives. Now they have an opportunity for an historic rebound in '26 with the Senate seat, the governorship, the positions of attorney general and secretary of state all up for grabs.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.