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By Katherine Fung
Senior Writer
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Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat, confirmed to Newsweek on Friday her interest to run for a hotly contested Senate seat.
Senator Gary Peters, also a Democrat, announced last month that he would not seek a third term in 2026, opening up a key Senate seat in a critical battleground state, just in time for the midterm elections.
McMorrow, 38, told Newsweek in a Friday interview that she is "very seriously exploring that seat."
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"Gary Peters is actually the first person who encouraged me to run for the seat that I'm in now, so I've built a great relationship with him over the years," the state senator said.
Why It Matters
Peter's unexpected decision to retire has put all eyes on Michigan, a swing state that voted in November to send both Republican Donald Trump to the White House and Democrat Elissa Slotkin to the U.S. Senate. Peters' departure will force Michigan Democrats to defend a critical Senate seat without the advantage of an incumbent and further complicate the Democratic Party's efforts to regain control of the Senate, which is currently operating with a 53-47 Republican majority.
What to Know
McMorrow, widely seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, told Newsweek that she was "taking a very serious look at the U.S. Senate seat," while acknowledging that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited, has already said she won't run.
First elected to the state legislature in 2018, McMorrow went viral in 2022 for a speech she made on the floor of the Michigan Senate. She was widely praised for showing a deft ability to defend herself from Republican attacks while also identifying herself as a "straight, white, Christian, married suburban mom." Last summer, she made her national debut on the stage of the Democratic National Convention, where she held up an enlarged prop of the Republicans' "Project 2025" blueprint.
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McMorrow said Friday that she was hopeful her type of approach could help "tear down the walls" surrounding federal offices.
"I think especially the U.S. Senate, more than anything else, feels like an ivory tower far away, where people do things and I don't know anything about it," she told Newsweek.
She added that the first few weeks of the new Trump administration have also highlighted just how important it is for Democrats to be represented at the federal level.
Pointing to Trump's federal funding freeze, which McMorrow said would threaten half of Michigan's budget and popular programs across the state, including Medicare and special education, the state senator warned that there was a lot at risk for Michigan Democrats "if we do not have a real partner in the federal level."
While Whitmer has taken herself out of the running, Michigan's Senate race has attracted the attention of other high-profile Democrats who would make for a competitive primary.
Politico reported Thursday that Rep. Haley Stevens is taking steps to succeed Peters. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also reportedly been weighing a bid. Although Buttigieg rose to national prominence as the mayor of a small town in Indiana, he established residency in Michigan, his husband Chasten's home state, in 2022.
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Another potential candidate could be Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. The New York Times reported last month that the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association is prepared to spend seven figures on Gilchrist's behalf should he run for the seat.
On the Republican side, former Representative Mike Rogers, who lost to Slotkin in November, and Tudor Dixon, who ran unsuccessfully against Whitmer in 2022, have been floated for the Senate vacancy. Representatives Bill Huizenga and John James are also mentioned as possible candidates.
What People Are Saying
Mallory McMorrow told Newsweek Friday: "I've also been a broken record for the last few years. I think the work on the state level is the most important in terms of what impacts your day-to-day life. But we have seen, already, just in the first few weeks of the Trump administration, that all of that can be undone immediately."
Gary Peters, the retiring senator from Michigan, said in a video announcing his decision to not seek re-election: "I always knew there would come a time to pass the torch to the next generation of public servants and allow them the opportunity to bring fresh energy and ideas to our nation's capital."
Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, told the hosts of "The View" last month: "I've got a lot of things I want to get done as governor. What comes after that? I don't know yet, I really don't."
Pete Buttigieg, former transportation secretary, told the Times in December: "I have a lot of humility about having only moved to Michigan a few years ago, although, of course, I did grow up in the neighborhood."
What's Next
Thus far, no one has announced a formal campaign for Michigan's soon-to-be open Senate seat. The primary is tentatively scheduled for August of next year.
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