Gary Peters Announces Run for U.S. Senate

With a nod to retiring U.S. Senator Carl Levin, 14th District Congressman Gary Peters announced in a Wednesday morning email to supporters that he will run for Levin's seat. 

Praising Levin as "the best of what it means to be a true public servant," Peters said that supporters around the state asked him to consider running for the senior Senator's seat. 

"Following Carl’s decision, I have been humbled by the voices from every corner of Michigan who have enthusiastically encouraged me to run for the U.S. Senate," he wrote. "This is a critical time for Michigan, and our main streets and middle class need an independent voice fighting for them."

He said his independent approach "is exactly what Michigan needs in the Senate right now."

Washington, D.C. blog thehill.com called Peters "a tough campaigner" who has raised more than $370,000 over the past several months and "has more than $800,000 to start for the race."

The Detroit Free Press reports that Peters is unlikely to face a primary challenge and most "political handicappers in Washington consider the seat likely to be filled by a Democrat". The last Republican to win a Michigan Senate seat was Spencer Abraham in 1994. 

Speaking at an event in Farmington, Peters said he would take a bipartisan approach to working in the Senate, as he has while serving in the House. 

"I have a record of working across the aisle to get legislation passed in a bipartisan way," Peters said, pointing to work on Dodd-Frank banking reforms and sweeping mortgage reforms with Republican lawmakers. "It's not about ideology, it's about solving a problem."