Gary Peters' exit creates a highly contested U.S. Senate battleground seat expected to be coveted by both major political parties.

Multiple Michigan Democrats had identified Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pete Buttigieg as top possible Democratic contenders for the Gary Peters seat.

Mallory McMorrow, a state senator who won national Democratic acclaim in 2022 with a speech defending liberal values while identifying herself as a “straight, white, Christian, married suburban mom,” said she had not ruled out a run for either governor or the Senate.