LOW KEY LEADER
Some constituents misconstrue Democratic Senator Gary Peters understated demeanor with a lack of effectiveness for Michiganders. Peters, of Bloomfield Township, has a long history of proving that a fallacy – as he did once again in November, as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee – known as the DSCC. The job of the chair is to raise lots of money for Democratic Senate candidates nationwide, and get them elected. And Peters had a 100 percent success rate in 2022 – the first campaign cycle since 1934 (so far back, that’s when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in his first midterm as president) that the Democratic Party did not lose a single Senate seat in the midterm election while holding the White House. He did so well, as a matter of fact, his fellow Democratic Senators want him to do it again in 2024, when the job will be potentially even more difficult, with 23 Senate seats up for grabs, from red states to battleground states, including his fellow Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow (D). According to Politico, senators who worked the hardest on caucus competitions were rewarded by Peters with gifts of Michigan-made treats from Zingerman’s and American Spoon – which could have amped their efforts. Seriously though, while Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will ultimately determine who will be the DSCC chair for 2024, Peters did acknowledge to Politico that “a lot” of fellow senators have encouraged him to lead their campaign efforts again in 2024.