As constituents continue to wait on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to call a special election for the state Senate district vacated by U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, the newly elected Democratic congresswoman is already plotting her next campaign.

Two unnamed Democratic sources told The Detroit News McDonald Rivet is currently exploring a campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Twp., who announced in January he won’t seek another term, through “encouraging” conversations with union leaders, clergy and politicians like former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing.

The report comes the same week former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who moved to his husband Chasten’s hometown of Traverse City three years ago, made it clear he won’t pursue Peters’ seat, sparking speculation the Democrat could run for president in 2028.

McDonald Rivet won Michigan’s 8^th Congressional District by 7 percentage points in November to succeed Rep. Dan Kildee, who retired. She was sworn into office 70 days ago, on Jan. 3.

It was a similar deal when McDonald Rivet was elected to the state Senate, where she served less than one term before shifting focus to Congress.

Adrian Hemond, a Democratic political consultant who heads the firm Grassroots Midwest, told The News the freshman congresswoman may be a “fantastic” candidate for Michigan’s open Senate seat, but the constant campaigning will likely be a liability.

“You just got to Washington, for Christ’s sake. You didn’t serve a full term in the state Senate, and now you’re going to immediately start campaigning for the U.S. Senate after getting elected to Congress?” he said. “I think for her that would be a mistake. Not to say she couldn’t win. But, man, it’s going to be easy to attack her for that.”

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McDonald Rivet did not confirm or deny she’s eyeing the upper chamber when contacted by The News.

“My life’s work has always centered around improving the lives of kids and working families, and I was so proud to bring together an amazing coalition of supporters last year in mid-Michigan. That work is my focus every single day in Washington, as we fight back against the chaos, dysfunction and true cruelty that is hurting families, veterans and seniors back at home,” she wrote in a statement.

“Like I always have, I will consider how and where I can best serve Michigan, so that I’m part of a solution that drives meaningful results for my community.”

In the meantime, about 270,000 of her constituents in Bay, Saginaw, and Midland counties remain without representation in the Michigan Senate as they wait on Whitmer to call a special election, WJRT reports.

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“I’m here to ask why the 35^th District does not have a state Senator, why the governor has not called for a special election?” constituent Karen Abate asked officials with Whitmer’s office at a recent Saginaw town hall.

“This is currently taxation without representation,” she said as the room erupted in applause.

An unidentified staffer told Abate the hang-up is a matter of politics and timing.

“So, when you, um, when there’s a call for a special election, um, there are legal hurdles you need to jump through, and what you’re speaking to, mam, is more of an issue with, um, the party, the Michigan Democratic Party, as it relates to the election, and … it’s all about timing,” he said.

“Because there has not been one, does not mean there will not be one,” the staffer said.

“It only took her about 20 days two years ago to call an election in other districts. Why are they more important than we are?” Abate shot back. “It’s been four months. You’re snowing us, sir.”

“Again, I hear your concern. What you’re speaking to is more of a political conversation. It’s more of a political, capital P, conversation rather than the issue that we’re here for today,” the official said. “I’ve heard you, we’ve heard you, we’ll take that concern back to the governor.”

Republican leaders in both chambers of the Michigan legislature have repeatedly called on Whitmer for months to call a special election, and constituents from Midland, Bay, and Saginaw counties took buses to the capitol to protest the governor’s inaction earlier this month.

In a recent op-ed for The Detroit News, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, who is vying to replace Whitmer in 2026, acknowledged the governor has “had a lot on her plate lately, like traveling the country from San Francisco to Martha’s Vineyard and Seattle to D.C. to keep up with her national book tour while also finding time for overseas adventures to Spain and Dubai.”

But he noted “it was just a year ago, after two seats were vacated in the Michigan House, that she had special election dates announced within 24 hours.” Political observers know that’s because the vacancies left Democrats without a majority in the lower chamber.

“It should not be up to her or me or any other single elected official to determine if the state Senate operates with a new 19-19 tie or returns to a 20-18 split for the remainder of the current legislative term. That is a question for the voters of the 35th District,” Nesbitt wrote.

The Michigan Freedom Fund, which bills itself as “the first line of defense against the radical Left,” has created a “Restore MI Voice” webpage to track “how long … the Great Lakes Bay Region will be without a voice in the state Senate.”

The timer on the page is at more than 70 days.

That’s how long it’s been since McDonald Rivet was sworn into congress, but Whitmer has known since the November election – 129 days ago – she would need to call a special election.

Data on the site compares the time it has taken Whitmer to call special elections for races that would benefit Democrats, versus those that would not.

On average, it took Whitmer just two days for the former, compared to 30 days for the latter, according to the site.

The 35^th Senate District stretches across five state House districts represented by Rep. Graham Filler, R-St. Johns; Rep. Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw; Rep. Bill G. Schuette, R-Midland; Rep. Timmy Beson, R-Bay City; and Rep. Matt Bierlein, R-Vassar.

Midland, Bay and Saginaw counties went 54.8% for President Donald Trump in the November election, and has been represented by a Republican every year since 1965, until McDonald-Rivet took office in 2023.