Following Sen. Gary Peters’ (D-MI) surprise announcement on Tuesday that he won’t seek another term in 2026, a wide field of potential contenders for the seat is beginning to take shape on both sides of the aisle.

Peters’ announcement set off a flurry of speculation about who might run to replace him. Republicans and Democrats alike will be clamoring for the chance at a vacant seat in a state President Donald Trump won by less than two points and freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) won by less than half a point. 

“Right now, it seems like it’s a free-for-all. I think names are being thrown around, many with serious viability and an opportunity,” David Dulio, a political scientist and director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University, told Jewish Insider of the state of the race after Peters’ announcement. 

“While Republicans are riding this wave of euphoria after November and after the first week of the Trump administration, 2026 is very likely to be a bad year for Republicans if history tells us anything,” Dulio said. “The midterm effect is real. We have felt it here in Michigan at the state level, and I think that it’s a part of the reason that Republicans haven’t won a Senate seat here in 30 years,” he added.

The state was also an epicenter of the political clash over the war in Gaza in the 2024 election, with both parties working to attract the state’s sizable Jewish, Arab and Muslim voter populations. 

Among the Democrats reportedly considering entering the race are former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), freshman Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist.

News of the vacancy also piqued the interest of the campaign arms of Senate Democrats and Republicans, with both sides expressing confidence that the seat was winnable. 

“Gary Peters is reading the room. After spending years ignoring illegal immigration and destroying his state’s auto industry, Michigan is better off without him. We’re committed to giving them a fighter that will stand with President Trump to restore the economic prosperity and security of our country,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP’s campaign wing, said in a statement.

David Bergstein, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement, “No Republican has won a Michigan Senate race in 30 years — including last cycle when Democrats won an open Senate seat even as Trump won the state — and Democrats will continue to hold this seat in 2026.”

Peters himself said he was “confident the seat will stay Democratic, and I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure that that is indeed the case.”

“We’ve got a lot of young, dynamic folks who can run for this office, who have distinguished themselves, so I suspect there’ll be a number of folks who will be interested. I’ll encourage them to run. But I know that there’s no shortage of talent,” he told the Detroit News. 

A source familiar with Stevens confirmed to JI she’s actively considering a bid for the seat.

Stevens is a favorite of the Jewish community in a heavily Jewish state; she handily defeated Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) in a bitter 2022 member-on-member primary. The Stevens-Levin primary included significant focus on the two candidates’ diverging records on Israel. 

Should she run, Stevens would be viewed as a top candidate for Jewish and pro-Israel voters.

Nessel is Jewish and faced attacks that her supporters described as antisemitic from Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and others over her decision to charge some anti-Israel demonstrators at the University of Michigan with crimes connected to the campus’ protests.

A source close to Buttigieg, who ran an impressive presidential campaign in 2020 before becoming the first major candidate to drop out and endorse former President Joe Biden, said on Tuesday, “Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve. He’s honored to be mentioned for this and he’s taking a serious look.”

A source familiar with Scholten’s plans told Axios that Scholten is having “early [conversations] with state leaders and top donors who are interested in her running,” though they noted that those discussions are in the “early early early stages.”

On the Republican side, the top name being thrown around as a potential candidate is Rep. John James (R-MI), who lost to Peters in the Democrat’s last reelection bid in 2020. James was also the Republican nominee against former Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in her final reelection campaign in 2018. She has since retired and her seat is now held by Slotkin. 

James, who held onto his competitive House seat in 2024, has also been viewed as a contender in next year’s gubernatorial race. A source close to James told JI, “I think most people are going to think John has his pick of what he wants to run for.”

James tweeted on Tuesday after the announcement: “Brighter days are ahead for Michigan!”

Also in the mix are former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who was the GOP nominee in the race against Slotkin, and Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), both of whom are considering mounting bids.

Dulio said he expects Trump to play an outsized role in the GOP primary, noting how critical the president’s endorsement was in the 2024 primary. “Trump is waiting in the wings to be kingmaker in the Republican primary — he certainly was in ‘24 when he endorsed Rogers. That ended the primary right there,” he said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said on Tuesday she would not run for the seat, focusing instead on her work as governor rather than campaigning. “Gov. Whitmer is grateful for Sen. Peters’ service. She is proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the Senate,” a spokesperson for Whitmer’s Fight Like Hell PAC said.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) doesn’t plan to throw her hat in the ring either, saying in a statement that, “I’ve had a number of people reach out and ask me not to take my candidacy for the Senate off the table, and I said I wouldn’t. But the fact of the matter is I’ve got too important a job to do in the House right now.”

“I’m the Democratic dean of the Michigan congressional delegation, and I’ve got to fight for many issues. I don’t have time to bulls**t and I’m not someone who is meant to go out and do nothing but raise money. I’m staying in the job where I can be most effective and deliver for the people of Michigan,” she candidly added.