Democrat Gary Peters Will Return as Senate Campaign Chief After Weeks of Uncertainty

Democrat Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) will return as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the 2024 campaign cycle after weeks of uncertainty as to who would lead the campaign arm.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Monday that Peters would return to the position for the upcoming cycle, even after reports indicated the Michigan senator did not want to remain in it. However, the announcement noted, “Peters led Senate Democrats to the best midterm results in modern history.”

Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) will serve as vice chairs of the DSCC. They will work with Peters and Schumer to defend their party’s tiny majority in the upper chamber as the 2024 Senate maps favor Republicans, the announcement said.

Peters said in a statement that he plans to take the “same approach” in 2024 as he did in last year’s midterms:

Senate Democrats won big in 2022 by working hard and taking nothing for granted – and that’s the same approach I will bring to our campaigns in 2024. Alongside Tina and Alex, I look forward to protecting and strengthening our Democratic majority, so that we can continue standing up for hard working Americans in the Senate and fighting back against Republicans’ chaotic, dangerous agenda.

The announcement of Peters returning to the position comes after some uncertainty as to who would take over the position or if the Michigan senator would return, as Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a member of Senate Democrat leadership, became the first Democrat senator to announce her decision to not seek reelection in 2024 and will retire at the end of her current term in January 2025.

As Breitbart News reported last week, the Senate Democrats started the 118th Congress last Tuesday without naming anyone to lead the campaign committee, even as other leadership positions have already been filled for the party:

The Democrats in the United States Senate appear to have not named anyone to lead the campaign committee charged with keeping — and expanding — the party’s majority in the upper chamber as members start to announce retirement and a 2024 map favoring Republicans looms.

The 118 Congress opened on Tuesday with no official announcement on who will be the chair of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the 2024 Senate cycle favoring Republicans, even as other leadership positions have already been filled for the party.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), the campaign chief during the 2022 campaign cycle, reportedly has already made it known to others that he does not want to remain in the position, despite Democrats urging him to stay in the position after a successful cycle. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to select the next chair, according to Fox News, but it remains unclear when he will make an announcement.

Ultimately, the DSCC will have to try to keep, if not expand, the 51-seat majority. That includes potentially spending millions on protecting Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who recently changed her party to become an independent after the last election cycle — in addition to some Democrat senators running in states that have turned redder over the years and open seats left by retiring members.

In 2024, 23 of the 33 Senate seats up for reelection are currently held by Democrats or left-leaning independents. Former President Donald Trump won six of these states by double digits in at least one of his presidential elections.

The New York Times previously acknowledged that some of the most challenging seats for the Democrats to keep would be Sen. Jon Tester’s (D) Montana seat, Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D) Ohio seat, and Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D) West Virginia seat. Trump won those states by 16, 8, and 29 percent in 2020.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.