Peters passes on run for Michigan governor

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said Tuesday that he has no plans to run for Michigan governor.

The junior Michigan senator told The Detroit News that he will forego a gubernatorial bid and focus on serving in Washington.

“I was elected to serve the people of Michigan in the U.S. Senate,” Peters, 59, said. “It is my intention to do that, and so I am not running for governor.”

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Peters has reportedly been lobbied by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams and the Rev. Wendell Anthony, the president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, to join the race for governor in recent weeks.

Duggan has not yet thrown his support behind Gretchen Whitmer, the 46-year-old frontrunner in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. 

Among the other Democrats seeking the party’s nomination are former Detroit health director Abdul El Sayed, former Xerox executive Bill Cobbs and entrepreneur Shri Thanedar.

A number of other Democrats, including Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), explored potential gubernatorial runs in the state, but have decided against it.

Current Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, 64, is the early favorite for the Republican nomination.