Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, who led the Democrats’ Senate campaign efforts the past two election cycles, has announced he will not seek a third term in 2026, creating a highly contested battleground seat expected to be coveted by both major political parties.

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection in 2026, leaving Congress at the end of his second term and opening up a highly competitive battleground Senate seat.

Michigan ’s senior Democratic senator announced on Tuesday that he won’t seek re-election in 2026, setting up what will likely be a fierce competition in a state Donald Trump won last year. Sen. Gary Peters, who first won his seat in 2014, revealed his retirement and shared how he came to that decision in a video.