I could spend this week’s entire column on the behind-the-scenes jockeying over who will succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters.
It’s tempting, but the storylines are limited on both sides.
Running for the U.S. Senate is a high-stakes game reserved only for those who can raise gobs of money and have the support (spoken or unspoken) of the Republican or Democratic Senate caucuses in D.C.
These groups play in primaries now, and their horse rarely loses.
Yeah, we had primaries last year in the first open U.S. Senate race since 1994, but they weren’t competitive because, in part, of the D.C. involvement. Elissa Slotkin won her primary the day she announced. Mike Rogers wrapped up the GOP contest when Trump endorsed him in January 2024.
Maybe a primary could develop in ’26, but the participants with a realistic shot are Rogers and U.S. Rep. James on the Republican side and Pete Buttigieg and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow on the Democratic side.
Rogers is getting in. His wife, Kristy, appears to have signed off, so he’s good to go. He came closer to winning a U.S. Senate seat than any Michigan Republican since Spence Abraham nabbed that seat in the 1994 Republican landslide (including John James twice).
Rogers probably would have won if his opponent had been anybody other than Slotkin.
James has a decision to make. Does he roll the dice on a pretty good gig as a member of Congress to run a primary against someone sharper, more likable and more politically polished than he is?
On the Democratic side, McMorrow has the ambition and skillset to run, but “Mayor Pete” can raise a bunch of national money and has built-in positive name ID. Can she match that with progressive political action committees like Emily’s List? And does Buttigieg forego a U.S. Senate run in a state that he’s only lived in for two years so he can get a jumpstart on president against . . . probably Gov. Gretchen Whitmer?
The answers to these questions will tell us whether the 2026 U.S. Senate primary will be a fait accompli or something worth watching.
So, while we wait for answers, let’s learn a little about the 38 men and two women who have served in the U.S. Senate from Michigan since statehood.
Michigan has only had 42 U.S. senators, but two served non-consecutive terms, meaning 40 Michiganders have held the title “senator.”
Of these 40, only 14 were born in Michigan. (Slotkin hails from New York.) This is proof that Michigan voters use the whole residency thing as an excuse for why they vote or don’t vote for someone when, really, where a person grew up doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot.
Eight were born in New York, four in Pennsylvania, two in Canada and the rest from eight other states.
Ten Michigan senators died in office at the average age of 65. Peters is 66.
Of the 14 senators who left office at the expiration of their term without attempting to seek reelection, the average age at the time they left office was 58. Peters will be 68 when he leaves office in 2026.
The average length of time a U.S. Senator representing Michigan has served is nine years and a few months. Peters will be finishing up 12 years when he steps down.
Slotkin took office at age 48. Spence Abraham had served a term and was defeated for reelection by age 48.
In the last 100 years, Michigan has had eight Republican U.S. senators. Not a single one of them left office on his terms. They all were defeated in reelection, died or resigned under political pressure.
Carl Levin served 36 years, the longest of any senator in Michigan history. When he retired, he was also the oldest, at 80. Debbie Stabenow, who stepped down after 24 years, was 74, the second oldest and second-most tenured senator in Michigan history.
(Kyle Melinn is the editor of the Capitol news service MIRS. You can email him at melinnky@gmail.com.)
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