Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Peters will not seek reelection in 2026, leaving a crucial seat up for grabs in what will likely be another high-profile race.

The abrupt announcement, surprising colleagues and political pundits in Washington and Michigan, is bound to involve some political posturing on both sides of the aisle. It also prompts the question: Who will fill his empty seat in battleground Michigan?

Peters, Michigan’s senior senator and a former congressman, on Tuesday announced his plans to step away from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027, The Detroit News reports.

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Peters said he is not retiring. “I’m just not running for reelection in the Senate. I hope, God willing, I have a lot more good years ahead,” he told The Detroit News.

Some well-known Republican leaders could emerge as possible candidates for Peters’ open seat, including U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga and John James; Tudor Dixon, former Republican gubernatorial candidate; and Perry Johnson, a Michigan businessman and Republican who ran for governor in 2022.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she isn’t interested in running. Pete Buttigieg, former United States Secretary of Transportation, also announced he is considering the possibility, The Detroit News reports.

Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, told The Detroit News that he is ready to move onto a “new chapter.”

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Michigan has had several hotly contested U.S. Senate races in recent years, including last fall’s contentious race between Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake Township and Democrat Elissa Slotkin, a former congresswoman from Holly.

Slotkin won in November with the narrowest margin of victory among Democratic Senate candidates nationally, by about 19,000 votes. She filled the seat of Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Lansing Democrat who retired after 24 years in the Senate and a 50-year year in Michigan politics, The Detroit News reports.

As an unpredictable swing state, Michigan has become a trump card when it comes to sending candidates to Washington. Republicans regained control of the U.S. Senate after the November election, but they have a slim majority and were eying Rogers to pick up a critical seat.

Republican hold 53 of 100 seats, and Vice President JD Vance recently cast the tie-breaking Senate vote to confirm Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the Department of Defense.

Republicans will undoubtedly be happy to see Peters go. Back in 2020, Peters, then a first-term Democrat, ran for reelection against Republican businessman John James for the U.S. Senate seat. The race also turned contentious ― a campaign marked by political attacks and a push by GOP President Donald Trump to get James elected.

The close, expensive race was the state’s most competitive in two decades, with Peters winning by roughly 92,000 votes. Republicans have widely criticized Peters, calling him “invisible” and “the politician known for doing nothing.”

Peters also said he has no plans to run for governor of Michigan or any other elected office. He currently serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security panel and is the new co-chair of the Auto Caucus.