Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said he would not run for an open Senate seat in Michigan, sidestepping fervent speculation that he would seek to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
“I’m planning to vote in that election as a resident of Michigan,” Buttigieg told CNN’s Jake Tapper after a resounding “No” to the prospect of a campaign.
“The job I have is, first of all, I think, the best job in the federal government. It can be really tough and demanding with all the problems that the transportation system has confronted, but also incredibly rewarding and I’m proud to be part of an administration that is doing more on transportation than has happened in my lifetime and then some.”
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The Transportation Secretary has tamped down questions throughout 2023 on whether he would run to replace Stabenow, who announced her retirement on Jan. 5. He told Punchbowl News on Friday he had “no plans” to leave his role, but he had not completely shut the door on the option until Sunday.
Buttigieg launched a wave of questions over his political future last summer when he and his husband Chasten moved to the state from Indiana in July. At the time, Buttigieg said the move was spurred by a desire to be closer to family, pointing to Chasten’s parents who live in Michigan and the arrival of the couple’s twins in 2021.
“When I married Chasten, I married into Michigan at some level to begin with,” Buttigieg said in July, according to The Detroit News.
