Peters to return as Senate Democrats’ campaign chief

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will take the helm of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm in 2024 for a consecutive time after he served as the chairman of the group during the November midterms when Democrats expanded their majority, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Monday. 

“Gary is a battle tested, proven winner whose hard work led Senate Democrats to defy the political odds and to one of our best midterm results in recent history. Under his leadership we will continue our campaign victories in 2024,” Schumer said in a statement.

“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,” Peters said in his own statement. 

Schumer also named Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) as vice chairs for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). Politico was the first to report the news of Peters’s return to the DSCC.

The move comes after Peters had previously told NBC News last month he would not be returning as chairman of the DSCC for the 2024 cycle. 

Democrats are expected to face an even more challenging Senate map given that 23 of the 33 seats up for reelection are held by the party. In addition, Sen. Krysten Sinema’s (Ariz.) recent decision to leave the party to become an Independent has left many within the party unsure of how to handle a possible Sinema reelection bid. 

“I’m really happy to say: That’s the job of the next the DSCC chair, who will have to make that determination,” Peters had told NBC at the time when asked about whether Democrats should field a candidate in Arizona or support a Sinema reelection bid if she chose to run again.

The decision to bring Peters back to chair the DSCC also comes against the backdrop of Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s (D-Mich.) decision last week not to seek reelection, complicating Senate Democrats’ map even further.