The surprise announcement Thursday by former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a Democrat, that he would not seek the open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan was clearly a major booster shot to Republican hopes of increasing their present majority (53-47 seats) in the Senate next year.

Given his name recognition from his 2020 presidential campaign, Buttigieg — who hinted he would instead focus on a presidential bid in 2028 — was widely considered the most formidable candidate to keep the seat of retiring Sen. Gary Peters in Democrat hands.

An EPIC-MRA poll conducted in February showed Buttigieg — who settled in Traverse City, Michigan, as he was leaving the Cabinet of President Joe Biden — in a relatively competitive contest (41%-47%) against Republican Mike Rogers, who lost Michigan’s closest-ever Senate race in its history (48.6%-48.3%) to Democrat Elissa Slotkin last year.

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