Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2026, leaving Congress at the end of his second term and opening up a highly competitive battleground Senate seat.

Democratic Michigan Senator Gary Peters has announced he will not seek a third term in 2026, giving Republicans a top target in a state likely to become a major midterm battleground. Peters, who won reelection in 2020 by a narrow margin of less than 2 points, surprised many with his decision.

The announcement by Sen. Gary Peters creates an open seat in battleground Michigan, which has flipped from red to blue to red again in the last three presidential elections.

Mich., told the Detroit News in an interview released Tuesday that he would not be seeking re-election for his seat, which will likely set off an intense battle between Democrats and the GOP over the

Democrat Gary Peters' announcement means Michigan will have an open U.S. Senate seat for the second time in two years.

They will need to defend an open seat in a battleground state that President Trump carried in 2024. And Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ruled out a run.

After a competitive Michigan Senate race during the 2024 election, 2026 is now shaping up to be another high-stakes cycle.

Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters says he will not seek a third term in 2026, creating a highly contested battleground seat (AP video: Mike Householder)

Before the 2024 election, the Crystal Ball isolated several key counties in Toss-up states. We are circling back to see what the results in those counties said about the overall election.— Several Democratic-trending suburban and touristy counties in the Industrial North continued to move left,

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) was honored with the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award.

Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin said Trump didn’t follow the law when he removed 18 inspectors general last Friday.