The surprise announcement Thursday by former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a Democrat, that he would not seek the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan was clearly a major booster shot to Republican hopes of increasing their present majority (53-47 seats) in the Senate next year.
Given his name recognition from his 2020 presidential campaign, Buttigieg — who hinted he would instead focus on a presidential bid in 2028 — was widely considered the most formidable candidate to keep the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters in Democrat hands.
An Epic-MRA poll conducted in February showed Buttigieg — who settled in Traverse City, Michigan, as he was leaving the Cabinet of President Joe Biden — in a relatively competitive contest (41%-47%) against Republican Mike Rogers, who lost Michigan's closest-ever Senate race in its history (48.6%-48.3%) to Democrat Elissa Slotkin last year.
In a few weeks, Rogers, a former House Intelligence Committee chair and radio-TV commentator, is expected to make official his candidacy for 2026.
Although other Water Wonderland Republicans have been mentioned as prospective Senate candidates — among them Rep. Bill Huizenga and state Sen. Jonathan Lindsey — all have sent signals they would defer to Rogers, the near-victor of 2024.
As for Democrats, far-left state Sen. Mallory McMorrow has said she is running. State Attorney General Dana Nessel and Rep. Haley Stevens, also considered part of her party's portside, are reportedly considering the race.
Bill Ballenger, editor of the much-quoted Ballenger Report on Michigan Politics, cautioned that Republicans should not be confident that Rogers has the seat in the proverbial bag — particularly in a state that last elected a Republican senator in 1994.
"Rogers is not 'sitting pretty,' but he looks stronger today than yesterday," Ballenger told us. "He's probably the [Republican] nominee, but the general election is another matter. There is a long way to go in this one."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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