WASHINGTON — Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced on Thursday that he will challenge Senator Chuck Schumer of New York for Senate majority leader, setting up a leadership contest that will shape how the new Democratic majority confronts President Donald Trump in his final two years in office.
Van Hollen, 67, announced his run in an interview with MS NOW. “This is not about any one individual, but it is about answering the call of the American people,” he said, calling his candidacy a response to what he described as a huge outburst of democracy in the midterm elections. “It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” he said, according to Reuters.
Schumer, 75, has led Senate Democrats since 2017 and had expected no challenger. He answered on Thursday with a statement saying he has the votes to continue as leader. “I’m confident I will be elected majority leader. And our caucus is really united in focusing on bringing down costs, on ending the corruption, on ending the chaos, on ending the war,” Schumer said earlier in the week, according to CNN.
The election will be held by closed ballot on December 1, and the winner needs the support of a majority of the Democratic caucus. Democrats flipped eight seats in the midterms and will enter January with at least 55 senators, with one race in Alaska still uncalled late on Thursday. Van Hollen told MS NOW he has the support of more than 10 senators and acknowledged he is the underdog.
Van Hollen said he would use the full power of the Senate to respond to voters who want the Iran war ended and the cost of living lowered. He has led Senate efforts to force votes on war powers resolutions aimed at the administration’s Iran campaign. His first public backer was an incoming freshman, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, who had suggested for weeks that he could support a Van Hollen run.
The contest is about more than two men. It will surface the party’s disputes over ideology, tactics and Israel, and the frustration of newer senators who want a more aggressive posture against the White House, according to CNN’s analysis. The possibility of a 2028 primary challenge from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also fed speculation about Schumer’s longer-term plans, though he has given no sign of stepping aside.
Republicans, by contrast, settled their leadership quickly. Majority Leader John Thune was swiftly re-elected to head his party despite the Republican defeat, according to CNN. That contrast leaves Democrats holding a public debate about their direction at the very moment they take control of the chamber.
What happens next is a three-week campaign conducted mostly in private, senator by senator. Even if Schumer wins, as most observers expect, a contested vote could raise questions about his authority. A Van Hollen victory would be one of the biggest leadership upsets in the modern Senate and would hand the majority’s agenda to a senator identified with the party’s progressive wing.
Sources: CNN; Reuters, via KTWB.
