• Analysis
Chris Van Hollen to challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader
Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen announced on Thursday he will challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader when Democrats take the chamber's majority in January, setting up a closed-door, secret-ballot election in early December.
A direct challenge made public
Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic senator from Maryland, said on Thursday that he is entering the race for Senate majority leader, a post Chuck Schumer has held and intends to keep as Senate Democrats prepare to hold the chamber's majority in January. In a social media statement, Van Hollen argued that voters demanded a change from the status quo and from the policies of Donald Trump, and that the moment calls for new leadership at the top of the caucus.
He cast his bid as a response to the public rather than a personal attack:
"This is not about any one person – it's about answering the call of the American people. That is why I'm running for Senate Majority"
Schumer's response within a minute
Schumer answered on social media within a minute of the announcement. Welcoming a discussion about the party's direction, he pointed to the midterm outcome and said: "55 seats and counting is an amazing result – and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader."
His confidence was not new. He told the Associated Press in an interview last week, before any challenger had declared: "I'm going to win it."
How the vote will work
The Senate Democratic leader election will be decided in early December, behind closed doors, by secret ballot. The contest follows months in which Van Hollen said he was weighing a bid while Schumer insisted he already had the support needed to hold the job.
- •The vote is scheduled for early December.
- •Balloting is secret and takes place within the Democratic caucus.
- •Many senators have not yet disclosed how they will vote.
- •It is the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades.
Two wings of the party
The battle pits a progressive, Van Hollen, against a centrist in Schumer, giving the caucus a clear choice between its two wings. Schumer's camp points to his record this cycle: he recruited many of the party's winning candidates and raised money for them, though not every winner began with his backing - most notably Michigan's senator-elect, Abdul El-Sayed, did not initially have his support.
Since the election, Schumer has also been talking with Democratic senators about forming an agenda for 2027, the year the new Senate majority takes office. The closed-door vote in early December will settle the contest, with many senators still not saying which way they will go.
