Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who is from Indiana, is weighing a run for governor of Michigan in 2026, multiple sources told the Detroit News.
Prominent Michigan Democrats have urged Buttigieg to seek the position as Gretchen Whitmer, the state's current Democratic governor, is term-limited, the News reported. Buttigieg, who served from 2012 to 2020 as mayor of his hometown, South Bend, Ind., relocated to Michigan in 2022 to be closer to his husband's family, according to the paper.
The report comes days after Detroit mayor Mike Duggan, a longtime Democrat whom many expected to be the leading contender to succeed Whitmer, announced that he will run as an independent instead. "It's clear to me that there are a lot of people in this country who are tired of both parties and tired of the system," Duggan said. "And so I want to offer people a choice."
"People are shocked and stunned and angry," Democratic strategist Andrew Feldman told ABC News. "Many view this as a serious situation where Mike Duggan could put the governor's mansion in the hands of Republicans and roll back years of progress."
President-elect Donald Trump won Michigan in November's election by a wider margin than he had in 2016. Republicans also flipped four House seats in the Michigan House of Representatives, reclaiming control of the chamber after two years of Democratic control.
Several Michigan Democratic officials, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II, and Attorney General Dana Nessel, are expected to mount runs for the governor's office, the New York Times reported.
Benson slammed Duggan for abandoning the Democratic Party and launching an independent bid. "For me, it's important that in moments like this, we don't flee from the party, but we stay and fix it," Benson said.
Potential Republican contenders for governor include State Senate minority leader Aric Nesbitt, former attorney general Mike Cox, U.S. representative John James, and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon, according to the Associated Press.
Buttigieg is alternatively considering running for president in 2028, the sources told the News. In the 2020 election, the transportation secretary became the first openly gay major-party candidate to run for president. He failed to gain momentum and suspended his campaign in March 2020.