Senator Gary Peters of Michigan announced Tuesday that he would not apply for re -election in 2026, forcing the Democrats to defend an open seat in a battlefield state that President Trump won in 2024 and causing the already hard path of the It is harder even harder. .
Peters, who was first chosen in 2014, won re -election in 2020 for less than two percentage points. His decision not to seek a third mandate will prepare the stage for another key contest next year in a state that will already have an open career of the governor, with Governor Gretchen Whitmer starting due to the term limits.
Peters had served as president of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the last two electoral cycles.
“I always thought there would be a time when I would leave me aside and pass the reins for the next generation,” said Mr. Peters to Detroit’s news. “I also didn’t see the service in Congress as something you do your whole life.”
At 66, Mr. Peters is relatively young for a senator renouncing, but had also previously served for three periods in the camera. It also served in the Navy Reserve.
He launched A video about your choice On Tuesday morning, saying that the “most important chapter in my life is a job in progress”, including being a new grandfather.
The way for Democrats to recover the Senate in 2026 was already steep. Republicans now have a majority of 53 seats, and with vice president JD Vance, serving as a broken vote, the Democrats would need to win four seats.
The match has few collection opportunities and is ready to defend the headquarters of Senator Jon Ossoff in Georgia.
The Democrats successfully celebrated a Democratic seat in Michigan last year, when Elissa Slotkin, then a member of the Democratic Chamber, defeated former representative Mike Rogers, Republican. It was one of the most fighting races in the nation, with Slotkin prevailing for less than 20,000 votes and approximately 0.3 percentage points.
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