Buttigieg gives the clearest sign yet about his next steps

Democrats are scrambling to hold onto the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters in a crucial swing state. “The hardest decision in politics is to pass on a race you have a very good chance to win,” said David Axelrod, the longtime Democratic operative who helped lead Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns, and a mentor to Buttigieg who spoke with him Wednesday. Beyond that, I have a sense that he wanted to spend more time with his family, and with people in communities like his, where the conversations and concerns are so different than the ones you hear in the echo chamber of Washington.” Buttigieg’s decision reshapes the Senate primary for a seat Democrats are desperate to hold after President Donald Trump won Michigan in November. “He wanted to decide quickly enough to give other folks a chance to mobilize if they wanted to run,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, who talked with Buttigieg several times as he made up his mind. He’s a rising star in the Democratic Party.” Now Buttigieg is eyeing another presidential run in 2028, a contest that sees him polling behind only his party’s most recent standard bearer, former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is weighing a potential gubernatorial bid in California.