Pete Buttigieg Declines to Run for Senate -- Because He's Eyeing the White House: Report [View all]

Source: MEDIAite

Mar 13th, 2025, 9:17 am


Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will not run for Senate in 2026 — mostly because he’s got his eye on a bigger prize. According to Politico, Buttigieg has ruled out a bid to join the upper chamber of Congress as the junior senator from Michigan after meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and weighing his options.

“His decision was framed by several allies and people in his inner circle as putting him in the strongest possible position to seek the presidency, and based on a belief it would be exceedingly difficult to run successive campaigns in 2026 and 2028,” according to Politico.

“Pete was an A-list recruit and would have been a formidable candidate for the Senate had he chosen to run,” famed Democratic strategist David Axelrod told the outlet. “But had he won in ’26, it would almost certainly have taken him out of the conversation for ’28. This certainly keeps that option open.”

Buttigieg previously mounted an longshot bid for the White House in 2020. He managed to win the most delegates in the Iowa Caucus (despite finishing with the second most votes) and tie Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in New Hampshire. He dropped out after finishing fourth in the South Carolina primary. Prior to his confirmation as secretary of transportation in 2021, the highest title Buttigieg had ever held was mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/news/pete-buttigieg-declines-to-run-for-senate-because-hes-eyeing-the-white-house-report/