Current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and retiring United States Senator Debby Stabenow are the subjects of a theory that may not be plausible. Nonetheless, politics is strange, therefore it could be absolutely accurate. Consider the opinions of the public.
Senator Debby Stabenow announced her impending retirement from the Senate on Thursday, when she revealed she would not run again in 2024. This was unexpected, given that Michigan is an extremely blue state; she held that seat until her death, and possibly for another term.
Immediate speculation (including mine) began regarding her successor. The Michigan Republican Party is managed by semi-functional alcoholics and has little chance of fielding a statewide candidate.
Here are some early mentions of the topic.
NEWS on Michigan’s open Senate seat: @ElissaSlotkin is calling allies today preparing for an announcement as soon as next week. @KevinRinke, an R self-funder who lost in the 22 gov primary, is also about to hop in.
w/@hillhulsehttps://t.co/vMIugEyqOt
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) January 5, 2023
The Kevin Rinke reference is extremely amusing, which I can elaborate on later.
This quick hot take from Politico mentions Secretary Buttigieg, but includes a declination from him:
At least two of the most prominent Michigan Democrats — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who now splits his time between Washington, D.C., and his family home in Traverse City, Mich. — quickly announced they were not planning a run for Stabenow’s seat on Thursday.
Whitmer, in a lengthy statement praising Stabenow’s legacy, noted that as governor, she looked “forward to working with her through the end of her term,” a nod to her plans to serve out her full four-year term, after winning reelection by a more than 10-point margin last year.
Buttigieg released a statement of his own, noting he is “fully focused on serving the President in my role as Secretary of Transportation, and not seeking any other job.” Using the present tense, Buttigieg continued, “we are hard at work to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, grow the economy, and create good-paying jobs.” Buttigieg has turned down chances to run for the House before and has often described himself as someone with an executive skill set.
Stabenow declined to say if she’s spoken with Buttigieg about the seat. “I look forward to talking to a lot of people that are interested,” she said. “But, it’s been a pretty busy day so far for me. And I really haven’t had those opportunities yet.”
All of the insiders I’ve spoken with throughout the past two years have stated the exact same things regarding Whitmer and Buttigieg, after he moved to the region last year.
Gretchen Whitmer has never seriously considered relocating to the Federal part of the political spectrum. Even when she was surveyed for the position of VEEP for Scranton Joe, she was aware that she was not being considered seriously, and she enjoys her position as governor of Michigan. With a 10-point victory in November 2022 and never having to confront the electorate again, she has no qualms about remaining in her current position.
When this story first broke last summer, however, the buzz surrounding Mayor Pete was somewhat different. This story from 2022 is reviewed, if you will:
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday the family connections of his husband, Chasten, helped inspire their decision to officially become Michiganians.
Buttigieg, who first found the national political spotlight as South Bend’s mayor in Indiana, has moved to Traverse City, Chasten’s hometown. Buttigieg plans to register to vote there before the midterm election this fall, a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson revealed last week.
“When I married Chasten, I married into Michigan at some level to begin with,” Buttigieg said Monday. “But it was really the arrival of our children that cemented our relationship to Traverse City.”
More on this story via RedState:
(Hats off to the author of the story above for getting it right–by calling the people of Michigan Michiganians and not Michiganders.) CONTINUE READING…
