Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) will not run for reelection next year and will retire after more than 10 years in the Senate, saying he is ready for a “new chapter.”

Peters announced his plans in an interview with the Detroit News, noting he plans to devote his post-Senate career to spending time with his family and 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,” Peters said.

Peters’s decision to forgo reelection sets battleground Michigan up for another fight. In the 2024 election, former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow did not seek another term, leaving the seat a toss-up that eventually went in Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s (D-MI) favor by less than 1 percentage point.

Peters would have had a tough race for the 2026 midterm elections but would have enjoyed the advantage of incumbency and the status as Michigan’s senior senator. President Donald Trump swept Michigan and the other battleground states last November, but with his absence on the ballot, turnout in midterm elections traditionally drops off.

Democrats are in a transition period after then-Vice President Kamala Harris lost the White House and Republicans won total control of Congress. As the party grapples with revamping its messaging strategies and platform, it could benefit from midterm elections often swinging away from the incumbent president.

Both Trump and former President Joe Biden saw Congress swing two years after their presidential wins, with Democrats taking the House in 2018 during Trump’s first administration and Republicans taking control of the lower chamber in the 2022 midterms under Biden.

Senate Democrats relied heavily on Peters during the last cycle serving as chairman of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm for the second consecutive election cycle. Under his leadership, the party had to defend 23 seats to the GOP’s 11. Of the battleground seats, Democrats were able to hold onto Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada, but lost Ohio, Montana, and Pennsylvania to Republicans.

“I’m confident the seat will stay Democratic, and I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure that that is indeed the case,” Peters told the Detroit News. “We’ve got a lot of young, dynamic folks who can run for this office, who have distinguished themselves, so I suspect there’ll be a number of folks who will be interested. I’ll encourage them to run. But I know that there’s no shortage of talent.”

Michigan hasn’t elected a GOP senator since 1994, when then-Sen. Spencer Abraham was elected and served until 2001. He lost to Stabenow in the 2000 elections. However, the state has shifted more purple since then — Slotkin beat former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in the 2024 Senate race by just 0.3%.

Peters’s departure could set off a heated race between Democrats who seek to be his successor. Multiple outlets have reported that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is exploring a bid for Peters’s seat.

“Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve,” a source told MSNBC. “He’s honored to be mentioned for this and he’s taking a serious look.”

Axios reported that Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI) are also considering bids, which could set up a heated primary — particularly if they run against Buttigieg, who traditionally has had a positive following among Democrats since his 2020 presidential campaign. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist could also be a contender.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), however, has been considered a 2028 presidential contender to vie for the chance to succeed Trump in the White House.

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“Governor Whitmer is grateful for Senator Peters’ service,” a spokesperson for Fight Like Hell, Whitmer’s PAC, said in a statement. “She is proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the senate.”

On the Republican side, possible contenders include Rogers and Rep. John James (R-MI), who also ran for the Senate. The Washington Examiner reached out to James and Rogers for comment on any possible bids for 2026.