Latest. The challenger now has named endorsements. Bernie Sanders formally endorsed Van Hollen on Thursday, saying voters want a Democratic Party that will stand up to powerful special interests and fight for working families, and Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan endorsed him the same night. Van Hollen said he believed he had the support of more than 10 of the 55 Democratic senators and senators-elect and conceded, “Am I the underdog? Yes.” Schumer answered that he has the votes to continue as Democratic leader, and fourteen senators and senators-elect have publicly backed him, among them Angela Alsobrooks, Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Baldwin, Sherrod Brown, John Fetterman, Mark Kelly and Sheldon Whitehouse. The closed-door secret ballot is set for December 1, ahead of the new Congress convening on January 4.
The leadership contest now has a declared challenger. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Thursday that he will run for Senate majority leader in the new Congress, challenging Chuck Schumer after Democrats swept to power in the midterm elections. In a statement, Van Hollen said the American people “called for change” and that meeting the moment requires new leadership. Axios dates the closed-door, secret-ballot election to December 1; the Associated Press describes it as the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades, with many senators declining to say publicly how they will vote.
Schumer, who recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and has been talking to senators about a 2027 agenda, told the Associated Press last week: “I’m going to win it.” Bernie Sanders had already positioned himself behind the challenger: on Wednesday, before the announcement, he told Jon Stewart’s Weekly Show that if Van Hollen chose to run, “I will support him.” Senators-elect Abdul El-Sayed, Troy Jackson and Adam Hamilton have also declined to back Schumer, without endorsing Van Hollen.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday that he will not support New York Senator Chuck Schumer to remain Democratic leader when the party takes control of the Senate, becoming the most prominent progressive to oppose his candidacy to date. Democrats will control at least 54 seats when the 120th Congress convenes in January.
“I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years, and I like Chuck. Nobody who works harder than Chuck Schumer. But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck to be reelected as the Democratic leader,” Sanders told a Capitol press conference, saying last week’s midterm elections were about change and calling for a vigorous debate about the direction of the Democratic Party.
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin appeared alongside Sanders and set a condition rather than an endorsement of anyone. “Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different,” she said. “I’m a no until and unless I see that from anyone.” Slotkin said she is not actively seeking the job herself.
No contender has formally emerged to challenge Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017 and said on Tuesday that he is confident he will be elected majority leader. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has come closest, saying this week that he is exploring a potential run and is actively calling colleagues. Sanders said he did not think Schumer would run unopposed. Senate Democrats are expected to hold their leadership elections in early December.