Gary Peters Won’t Seek Reelection in Crucial Swing State of Michigan

Peters, 66, told The Detroit News that it is time for a “new chapter” that focuses on spending more time with his family. “I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation. I also never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life,” Peters told the outlet.

Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who led the Democrats’ Senate campaign efforts the past two election cycles, has announced he will not seek a third term in 2026, creating a highly contested battleground seat expected to be highly coveted by both parties.

Gary Peters, Michigan’s senior senator and a former congressman, said he won’t seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027. In an exclusive interview, the Bloomfield Township Democrat told The Detroit News that he is ready to leave public office in two years and move onto a “new chapter” that includes spending more time with his family ― particularly a new grandchild who lives on the West Coast. “I always thought there would be a time that I would step aside and pass the reins for the next generation. I also never saw service in Congress as something you do your whole life,” said Peters, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014. “And that goes back to 2008 when I first won that House seat. I thought it would be for a matter of a few terms that I would serve, and then I would go back to private life.” Peters’ decision is likely to surprise many of his colleagues and ignite an intense scramble on both sides of the aisle for his seat in battleground Michigan. At 66, Peters is relatively young for a U.S. senator, but after 10 years in the Senate and six in the House, he has decided to pass the torch to a younger generation. He has other things he wants to do, like finding “endless, winding roads” for his Harley Davidson, he said. It’s a decision he’s been mulling for several months.