As former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg eyes a run for Senate, many in Michigan are wondering if his recent move to the Wolverine State will be a liability if he vies for a seat in 2026.
Buttigieg, a native and former mayor of South Bend, Ind., moved to Traverse City, Mich., in 2022 with his husband Chasten Buttigieg — a Michigan native.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who beat former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) in November while invoking her opponent’s ties to Florida, admitted to us that Buttigieg’s out-of-state past may be an electoral weakness.
“People have their big strengths, and then they have things that aren’t strengths. And obviously, Pete has owned the fact that it’s his husband who is the Michigan resident,” Slotkin said. “He moved there, but he has other great strengths.”
Slotkin added that Michiganders “also appreciate people who move to our state and make their home there.”
No prominent Democrat has publicly thrown their hat into the ring in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). But along with Buttigieg, Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.), state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are considering running.
Peters, a former chair of the DSCC, told us that he thinks Buttigieg will mount “a very strong campaign” if he decides to get in.
“He’s moved there with his husband, who’s a longtime resident. I think folks are going to be looking at other issues,” Peters said of Buttigieg.
If Buttigieg were to run for Senate, he’d automatically become the most high-profile candidate with the ability to outfundraise other competitors. Democrats are already in the Senate minority, so holding Michigan will be critical. But it’ll be no easy task in a state twice won by President Donald Trump.
“We have a big bench in Michigan. We have a lot of people I think that are ready to think about a statewide race, including Pete,” Slotkin said. “It’s very much still an open field.”
On carpetbagging allegations: Modern-day blockbuster Senate races are more nationalized affairs than ever before, so charges of carpetbagging may not carry as much weight as in the past.
For instance, Sen. Dave McCormick (D-Pa.), who was criticized for owning a Connecticut home while running in Pennsylvania, knocked off political stalwart, former Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in November. But Eric Hovde, Sam Brown, Mehmet Oz and Rogers all lost key Senate races in recent cycles after their Democratic opponents slammed their out-of-state connections.
The GOP view: The NRSC is quickly seizing on the issue by framing Buttigieg as a “former Indiana Mayor” in its campaign messaging.
