The highly-respected U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat of Michigan, has announced she will not seek re-election in 2024, fueling rumors once again of a potential run for her seat by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Stabenow, now 72, is a four-term senator from The Great Lake State who also served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and the Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke first reported Stabenow’s decision to retire at the end of her term.
In July, Politico reported Secretary Buttigieg and his husband moved to Michigan to be closer to Chasten’s parents, after the birth of their twins.
“Moving to Chasten’s hometown of Traverse City allowed them to be closer to his parents, which became especially important to them after they adopted their twins, often relying on Chasten’s parents for help with child care,” a Dept. of Transportation spokesperson said.
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But Politico also noted, “the move also has another significant benefit. With two Democratic senators and a Democratic governor, Michigan is a much more hospitable state for a fellow Democrat with political ambitions. It’s also in the running to replace Iowa as the first presidential nominating contest. Buttigieg has been grip-and-grinning the state’s politicos as well, visiting the annual Mackinac Policy Conference in recent weeks.”
And just weeks ago Politico also reported that Buttigieg’s allies have infrastructure for a campaign ready and waiting.
“Allies of the transportation secretary have built out a dark money group, Win the Era Action Fund, and a political action committee, Win the Era, which has endorsed a small cohort of candidates in the 2022 midterms and allowed Buttigieg to maintain a political footprint as he remains in the Biden Cabinet.”
Secretary Buttigieg is among the most popular and most-recognized members of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet. And after President Biden, his administration, and Democrats in Congress successfully passed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill in November of 2021, Buttigieg gained even greater respect and an opportunity to shepherd a key component of Biden’s platform.
In June, Sen. Stabenow praised Buttigieg, and welcomed him into her home state with open arms, calling him “an extraordinary leader.”
“We like to claim, and we know we know he may not consider himself only a Michigander, but you certainly are a Michigander as part of this with your family,” Stabenow said, introducing him at an event in Detroit on infrastructure.
“Secretary Buttigieg has been an extraordinary leader and is somebody who is laser focused on where we need to go in Michigan where we need to go nationally. We are so fortunate to have him in this position as a former mayor, he gets it on the front lines and he is really laser focused that every dollar is going to go in the right place. We don’t have any dollars to waste here. And he’s the guy that’s going to make sure that this is done effectively, Secretary. Welcome, welcome. Welcome.”
Watch Sen. Stabenow and Sec. Buttigieg below, or at this link.