Out gay former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and out lesbian Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are the leading candidates in an early U.S. Senate primary poll. 

A large majority of Democratic primary voters (77 percent) have a positive view of Buttigieg for the competitive Senate seat, according to a survey from Blueprint Polling via Semafor. Nessel is a close second, earning favorability from 72 percent of voters. The next closest candidate was Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist with 45 percent.

About 40 percent of Democratic primary voters said they would vote for Buttigieg, and 16 percent said they would vote for Nessel. Around 30 percent were undecided. If Buttigieg decided not to run, 39 percent said they would vote for Nessel and 9 percent said they would vote for Gilchrist, whereas 37 percent said they were undecided.

Current Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, 66, unexpectedly announced last month that he will not be seeking a third term, citing a desire to “pass the torch.” His decision opens up a critical Senate seat in a battleground state.

Buttigieg is now “taking a serious look” at entering the race, Axios reported at the time, and two sources familiar with the former secretary confirmed to the Detroit Free Pressthat he is heavily considering it, with one saying, “Pete’s looking into all of his options and figuring out how he can best continue to serve.” Democrats in Michigan are also reportedly looking at Buttigieg as a potential candidate to replace Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer when her second term is over in 2026. 

Nessel is the the highest-ranking out LGBTQ+ elected official in Michigan. She became the state’s first out gay Attorney General in 2019, and is a former criminal prosecutor and civil rights attorney who helped win the landmark court case overturning the state’s ban on marriage equality, DeBoer v. Snyder. The case was eventually consolidated with Ohio’s Obergefell v. Hodges as well as cases from Kentucky and Tennessee, then heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in the 2015 marriage equality ruling.