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

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.

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