DETROIT — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg struck an optimistic tone Tuesday night as election results rolled in across the country, fueling hopes among Democrats that they were headed for a strong night.
“Folks, the results are still coming in, but to put it very, very mildly, I’d rather be us right now,” Mr. Buttigieg told supporters at Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s election night party.
The mood inside the ballroom here was buoyant as returns trickled in from red state races across the country and signs of Democratic strength began to emerge in key races.
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Attendees watched television, viewing the early returns as a positive sign for Mr. El-Sayed’s chances of emerging victorious in a bruising race against Republican Mike Rogers.
Mr. Buttigieg cautioned that Democrats still have work to do and noted that Republicans will control the White House for two more years, no matter what happens. But he said the results, particularly in Michigan, would send a message that could not be ignored.
“They can ignore the American people no longer, because we have the last word when it comes to elections,” Mr. Buttigieg said.
Mr. Buttigieg is among the Democrats eyeing a 2028 presidential run, and the party’s performance Tuesday is likely to shape the debate over what kind of message and candidates Democrats want to rally behind. The results could help set the terms of the next Democratic presidential primary.
Mr. Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, moved to Michigan in 2022 after emerging as a national figure during the 2020 Democratic presidential race. During that race, he narrowly won the Iowa caucuses and finished a close second to Sen. Bernard Sanders in New Hampshire before later joining President Biden’s Cabinet.
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