Pete Buttigieg, formerly mayor of South Bend, Ind., said he is “taking a serious look” at Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, which will be at the center of the battle for congressional control in the 2026 midterms, with the departure of Michigan's two-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.

Pete Buttigieg is quietly contemplating his future from a small city in northern Michigan while talking to Democratic Party officials, labor leaders and top strategists.

Republican Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost last year's U.S. Senate race, has an early lead over Buttigieg, according to one poll.