Pete Buttigieg says he won't be running for governor or US Senate in upcoming races

FOX 2 - Former United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced he will not be running for political office anytime soon.

The onetime presidential candidate posted online that he will not be running for governor or the US Senate on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

Buttigieg, 43, who lives in the Traverse City area with his family, said he was deciding against competing in either race - despite caring deeply about who the state will elect for those positions.

"I remain enthusiastic about helping candidates who share our values - and who understand that in this moment, leadership means not only opposing today’s cruel chaos, but also presenting a vision of a better alternative," he said. "While my own plans don’t include running for office in 2026, I remain intensely focused on consolidating, communicating, and supporting a vision for this alternative."

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He used his post on X, to promote his new Substack, where he shared more thoughts about the current political landscape and his musings about it.

Alongside claims of the country being less free, secure and democratic, he shared a variety of thoughts ranging from having more time to spend with family to Artificial Intelligence.

"In the months ahead I will be spending more time engaging both legacy and digital media in the service of a politics of everyday life, rooted in the values of freedom, security, and democracy," he wrote.

Buttigieg served two terms as mayor of South Bend, before running for president in 2020. He is the first openly gay person to be confirmed by the US Senate and serve as a permanent cabinet member.

Buttigieg added that he considers Michigan's Democrat pool of candidates to "have a deep bench" and that he'll work to help the nominees in their races however he can.

"I remain enthusiastic about helping candidates who share our values - and who understand that in this moment, leadership means not only opposing today’s cruel chaos, but also presenting a vision of a better alternative," he said. "I’ll be focusing on things like the prosperity of the industrial Midwest, the future of our cities and towns, the condition of our infrastructure, the need for structural reform in our democracy, the outlook for our climate, the proper role of technology, the need for greater belonging in American life, the struggle against poverty, and the contemporary meaning of deeply American traditions around community, faith, and service."

 

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