Trump backed 2024 Republican Senate nominee in Michigan moves closer to making another run in 2026

The announcement from Rogers comes two days after two-term Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced he wouldn't seek re-election in the 2026 midterms, which will force the Democrats to defend a key swing state seat as they try to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans.

Rogers won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats' nominee, in last November's election in the race to succeed longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired. Slotkin, who vastly outspent Rogers, edged him by roughly 19,000 votes, or a third of a percentage point.

Rogers is a former FBI special agent who later served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee during his tenure in Congress. A one-time GOP Trump critic who mulled a White House run of his own in 2024, Rogers later became a strong supporter of the then-Republican presidential nominee and won his endorsement last year.

Pointing to his 2024 showing, Rogers noted that "since receiving more votes than any other Republican candidate that has ever run for Senate in Michigan, the tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement I've received since November proves that our mission to send a real fighter to the US Senate has just begun."

Peters, a former House member first elected to the Senate in 2014, announced in a social media post that he would not seek re-election.

"Serving Michigan in the Congress has been the honor of my life. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity the people of my home state have given me," Peters, who steered the Senate Democrats campaign committee the past two elections cycles, said.

Peters was one of three Democratic senators up for re-election in the 2026 midterms that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was planning to heavily target as they aim to expand their current 53-47 majority in the Senate. The other two Democrats are Sens. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

While Rogers is the first Republican to publicly make a move toward launching a 2026 Senate campaign in Michigan, GOP sources tell Fox News others who may consider running are Rep. John James -who's in his second term in the House and was the GOP Senate nominee in Michigan in 2018 and 2020 -, longtime Rep. Bill Huizenga, and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy.

Hours after Peters' announcement, there were developments in the race for the Democratic Senate nomination.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who moved his residency from Indiana to Michigan a few years ago, signaled that he's mulling a Senate bid.

"Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve. He's honored to be mentioned for this, and he's taking a serious look," a source familiar told Fox News.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan quickly took herself out of consideration.

"Governor Whitmer is grateful for Senator Peters' service. She is proudly serving the people of Michigan as governor and is not running for this seat in the Senate," a spokesperson for her political action committee, Fight Like Hell PAC, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Scott emphasized that "we're committed to giving them a fighter that will stand with President Trump to restore the economic prosperity and security of our country."

The rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee noted that "no Republican has won a Michigan Senate race in 30 years - including last cycle when Democrats won an open Senate seat even as Trump won the state."

And DSCC spokesman David Berstein also pledged that "Democrats will continue to hold this seat in 2026." 

Peters, in his statement on Tuesday, pledged "although I will not be on the ballot next year, I will not just walk away. I plan to actively campaign to ensure we elect a dynamic Democratic candidate to be the next U.S. Senator from Michigan."

Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult map in the 2024 cycle as they lost control of the majority. And while an early read of the 2026 map indicates they'll play defense in Michigan, Georgia, and New Hampshire, they may have a couple of opportunities to go on offense.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is up for re-election in a reliably blue state. And Sen. Thom Tills of North Carolina is also up in 2026, in a battleground state Trump narrowly won this past November.

Fox News' Julia Johnson and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report