Former transport secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday morning that he will not apply for the Senate or governor of the United States in the state of Michigan, which is potentially clearing the way of setting up a race for president in 2028.

“I care deeply to whom Michigan will choose as governor and send to the United States Senate next year, but I have decided not to compete in any of the races,” buttigieg wrote in x. “I am excited to help candidates who share our values, and who understand that at this time, leadership means not only opposing today’s cruel chaos, but also presenting a vision of a better alternative.”

Buttigieg’s announcement occurs when the Democrats face both being closed from power in Washington and with the possibility of defending multiple seats in the key Senate in the intermediate works of 2026.

It can happen a lot between now and the next presidential race, but there are little doubt that this is what the former secretary is preparing. A source familiar with Buttigieg’s thinking said he believes that this movement places him in the strongest possible position to run in 2028 and apply for governor or senator in 2026 would have removed it from the table.

Buttigieg was expected to potentially announce a race for the seat that was unemployed by Senator Gary Peters, who announced in January that he would not apply for re -election. The titular governor Gretchen Whitmer is limited to term.

Buttigieg and his family moved to traverse City, Michigan, the hometown of her husband Chastten, in 2022.

In Publish in Susta Preparing his decision not to run for the Senate or the governor, Buttigieg wrote that he had been seriously applied for any of the works.

“I have had long conversations with neighbors, advisors, friends, elected officials and with Castan about whether to run. I reflected on what I could offer to the light of the exceptionally high standards of leadership and service established by Governor Gruletchen Whitmer, Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Gary Peters,” Buttigieg wrote.

“I considered what I could contribute to the race compared to other probable candidates, and what would mean running and serving compared to other ways in which it could make a difference in the coming years.”

He said that the Democratic Party “has a deep and talented bank here in Michigan, and I am sure we will nominate an outstanding candidate for each office.”

Buttigieg did not mention any specific plan for the future or its own plans, he said, includes speaking with “both digital and inherited media”, talking to people throughout the west, and “partners, allies, friends and strangers, apparently, apparently a description of a more convincing republican part as their own republican party. He did not mention any of the parties by name.

Without calling President Donald Trump by name, Buttigieg called the United States “demonstrably less free, less safe, less democratic, and less prosperous, what was only ten weeks ago”, and said people need to show a positive vision of a “better future” for the United States and be creative about “where we make our case” given that Americans receive information.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, first jumped to national prominence when he was running in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. He served in the cabinet of President Joe Biden as secretary of the Department of Transportation, becoming the first secretary of the openly gay cabinet to be confirmed by the Senate.

During the Biden presidential campaign in 2024, and later, the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris itself after Biden left the race, Buttigieg served as a substitute for the key campaign and was floated as a possible formula partner for Harris, who finally chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Buttigieg’s decision occurs when the Senate races and the governor of the United States in Michigan, a key state on the battlefield, they heat up.

Some figures floated as possible Senate candidates have already indicated that they will not run for the seat. But the field can be ready to grow. Senator of the Democratic State of Michigan Mallory McMorrow wrote in x On Thursday morning, “Tomorrow busy, huh? Thanks to all encouraging me to run for the Senate. I will have more to share soon.”

Cook’s political report currently qualifies Michigan’s Michigan Senate career in 2026 as a launch. The other seat in the Michigan Senate, for elections in 2024, was won by Democratic candidate Elissa Slotkin, even when Harris lost the state.

Separately, Michigan’s governor career already includes multiple high -profile candidates, including Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

Hannah Demissie and Justin Gómez de ABC News contributed to this report.