Chris Van Hollen will challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader in the new Congress, marking the first time in decades that the race will be contested.
Announcing his run on Thursday evening, the Democratic senator for Maryland said his challenge was “not about any one individual” but about “answering the call of the American people.”
“In this election, the American people called for change. They called for a change from Donald Trump’s disastrous policies — but even bigger than that, a change from the status quo that isn’t working for working people,” Van Hollen said in a statement on social media. “It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership.”
Van Hollen’s announcement comes amid calls from grassroots groups and several Democratic politicians for a shake-up in the party’s leadership. Detractors have accused Schumer of being too willing to compromise and not forceful enough in confronting President Donald Trump. Others have credited him with the Democrats’ sweeping success in the midterm elections, which saw the party win a majority in both chambers of Congress. Van Hollen, a progressive Democrat, previously said he was considering running for President in 2028. Both he and Schumer are up for re-election in 2028.
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In response to Van Hollen’s announcement, Schumer, a senator for New York who has led the Democratic caucus in the upper chamber since 2017, asserted that he has enough votes to win.
“I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together—55 seats and counting is an amazing result—and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader,” Schumer posted. “I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people.”
Senate Democrats are due for a closed-door vote on Dec. 1 on who will be their Senate Majority Leader when the new congress convenes on Jan. 4. The last time the election for Senate Democratic leader was contested was in 1994, when Tom Daschle of South Dakota defeated Chris Dodd of Connecticut in an open race to succeed retiring leader George Mitchell.
A progressive challenger
Van Hollen was elected to the Senate in 2016 to succeed retiring Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski and was reelected for a second term in 2022. He chaired the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm during the 2018 election cycle.
In his time in the senate, Van Hollen emerged as a prominent progressive voice through his criticism of U.S. military support for Israel and his opposition to the Trump Administration’s policies. He has criticized Schumer for his alignment with pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. On Thursday, Van Hollen said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is currently chaired by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D, N.Y.), should not accept money from AIPAC. (The DSCC accepted a direct donation of $15,000 from AIPAC’s PAC in the 2025-26 cycle, according to trackers of Federal Election Commission filings, while Democratic House and Senate candidates this cycle received around $23.9 million through AIPAC PAC through Oct. 14, including individual donations it forwarded and its own direct contributions. AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, also spent around $54.2 million on House and Senate races through Nov. 11, though its largest contribution was toward the campaign against Democratic Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan.)
Before entering the Senate, Van Hollen served seven terms in the House, representing Maryland’s 8th district. He was first elected in 2002 after defeating establishment-backed Democrat Mark Shriver in a competitive primary and Republican incumbent Connie Morella in the general election. A close ally of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Van Hollen chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidency and Democrats expanded their House majority. He also oversaw House Democrats’ campaign during the 2010 cycle, when Democrats lost control of the chamber.
Van Hollen said on Thursday that he would use the Senate’s full power to push to end Trump’s war with Iran and lower the cost of living. He also joined Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois in opposing any short-term government funding package that did not restrict funding for the war.
“Last week the voters sent a loud and clear message: we cannot return to business as usual in Washington. We need to meet the moment with a bold agenda to deliver for working people,” Van Hollen said in a post on X announcing his run for the leadership position, adding in another post: “To deliver, we need new leadership.”
Calls for a new direction
Van Hollen’s announcement answered calls from progressive activists and several Democratic senators for a challenge to party leadership.
Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, ruled out backing Schumer earlier this week.
“The moment when you have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had in the history of this country, when our younger generation will have a lower standard of living than their parents, the time is now to deal with the need to create an economy that works for all, not just the people on top,” Sanders said at a press conference on Tuesday. “Do I think Chuck has been leading in that direction? No.”
Sanders endorsed Van Hollen on Thursday, saying in a social media post that voters “want a Democratic Party that will stand up to powerful special interests, take on the billionaire class and fight for working families.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D, Mich.) said at the same Tuesday press conference that she would not back Schumer. She did not endorse Van Hollen, but she said they had a “really productive conversation” earlier in the week. She called for anyone seeking to lead the Senate to put out a plan for what they would do in its first 100 days.
“You can’t lead people if you can’t lay out where you’re going, and it may be one thing when you’re in the minority, but it’s very different when it’s now your responsibility to deliver,” she said. “Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitely different.”
Several incoming Democratic senators also called for new leadership, including Troy Jackson of Maine, Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Juliana Stratton of Illinois, and Annie Andrews of South Carolina.
Mississippi Sen.-elect Scott Colom also did not commit support to Schumer, telling MS Now on Thursday, “I gotta know my options,” though he added that he did not think it was “a good thing” that the Democratic Party’s leaders in Congress, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Schumer, “both live in the same borough” of New York.
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Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico declined to back Schumer till he heard his “vision” for the Senate. New Hampshire Sen.-elect Chris Pappas said in an interview last month that “voters are hungry for … a new generation of leadership in the Senate.”
El-Sayed, a progressive who defeated Schumer’s preferred candidate, Rep. Haley Stevens, in Michigan’s Democratic primary, endorsed Van Hollen on Thursday night.
“The American public spoke clearly last week. They rejected Trumpism,” El-Sayed said in a post. “But we have yet to earn our mandate. That will require bold leadership.”
Progressive groups MoveOn, Indivisible, and the Working Families Party opposed Schumer. The organizations said they would support primary challenges against Democratic senators up for reelection in 2028 who do not back Van Hollen, the New York Times reported.
“Chuck Schumer’s leadership for the last two years is part of the old era of politics that needs to be put to rest,” Indivisible said in a memo released after the midterm elections. “Everyone with a Democratic senator—including those with newly-elected senators on their way to D.C.—should be demanding a contested leadership election, not a cleared field for Schumer.”
Several House members, who do not have a say in the Senate leadership election, signalled support for change. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, N.Y.) said on Tuesday that calls for new leadership “are a sentiment that is seen in a lot of places.” She declined to endorse Schumer, saying the decision belonged to senators. In the House leadership contest, she said that Jeffries, whom progressives have also criticized, currently faces no challenge for Speaker.
A divided caucus
Despite calls for a new direction, Schumer retains substantial support among Senate Democrats, buoyed by colleagues who credit his fundraising and candidate recruitment with helping deliver their midterm victories. Democrats flipped at least eight Republican-held seats, securing a caucus of at least 55 members, including two independents, up from 47. (Alaska’s Senate race has yet to be called.)
Fourteen senators and senators-elect have publicly backed Schumer: Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland; Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut; Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin; Sherrod Brown of Ohio; Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada; John Fetterman of Pennsylvania; Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly of Arizona; Gillibrand of New York; Tim Kaine of Virginia; Angus King of Maine; Brian Schatz of Hawaii; and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
“When the manager takes you to the World Series, you give him another contract. And this has been a, you know, a really good election cycle for us,” Gallego said on Tuesday.
In private caucus meetings this week, Schumer outlined a broad agenda for Democrats’ first 100 days in power, the Associated Press reported. It includes legislation on tariffs and health care, as well as efforts to end the war in Iran.
Schumer said on Tuesday he was “confident” he would be elected Majority Leader.
Van Hollen, however, portrayed the Democratic midterm victory as a “people-powered movement,” rather than one “orchestrated” by the DSCC.
Schumer also faces criticism for what some saw as a slowness to support progressive candidates during this election cycle. National Democrats faced criticism for initially investing too cautiously in Mississippi, where Colom defied pre-election forecasts to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since the Reconstruction era. Schumer also backed Stevens in the primary race against El-Sayed in Michigan, before supporting the latter after he won the nomination.
Van Hollen told MS Now that the Senate Democratic leader should not take sides in primaries for open seats.
Van Hollen said that he had consulted a large number of incumbent and incoming Democratic senators and believed he had “more than 10” of the 55 Democratic senators and senators-elect’s votes.
“Am I the underdog? Yes,” Van Hollen said.
But he argued that Schumer’s support could shift now that colleagues had another candidate to consider.
“It is one thing to have someone’s support when you’re the only choice,” he said. “I think a little democracy in the Senate Democratic Caucus is a good thing.”
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