Outgoing U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg may not be done with politics after all.
After a failed, past bid to be the Democratic presidential nominee, “Mayor Pete” may be plotting a new fun for the White House in 2028.
An appearance by Buttigieg this morning on New Hampshire talk radio is fueling renewed speculation that he may be considering another White House run in 2028.
Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate who is considered a potential contender for the next nomination race, has made numerous radio appearances across the country during his four years steering the Department of Transportation, including a bunch in New Hampshire, which is widely considered the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state.
But a guest segment by Buttigieg on the statewide morning news-talk radio program “New Hampshire Today” is grabbing attention.
“The only thing I’m sure is next is a little vacation,” Buttigieg said when asked by host Chris Ryan about his plans once his tenure as transportation secretary sunsets on Jan. 20.
Buttigieg said he and his spouse, Chasten, “are ready to spend a little time together. I’m ready to be around our three-year-old twins a little more, and I’m determined not to make any life decisions too quickly in the new year.”
“But I will find ways to make myself useful, and maybe that’s running for office, and maybe that’s not. I’ll take the next few weeks and months to work through that,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg also said that “I know what I care about. I care about how communities, like the place where I grew up, find a better future. I care about how to make sure technology makes us all better off and not worse off. I care about how the infrastructure issues and opportunities I’ve worked on can develop. I care about public service. I care about our democracy, and I will find ways to work on that, whatever shape that might take.”
A former naval intelligence officer who was deployed to the war in Afghanistan and who served eight years as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigied was a longshot when he launched his 2020 presidential campaign.
But he narrowly edged Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to win the Iowa caucuses before coming in close second to Sanders in the New Hampshire presidential primary.
Ultimately Buttigieg dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden as the former vice president won the South Carolina primary in a landslide, swept the Super Tuesday contests and eventually clinched the nomination before winning the White House.
In recent weeks, Buttigieg has fielded calls by some Michigan Democrats urging him to consider a 2026 run for governor, to succeed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is term-limited.
“I haven’t made any decisions about, big decisions about my future,” Buttigieg told reporters earlier this month in Detroit, in a line that he would repeat in this week’s New Hampshire radio interview.