Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Thursday he will run for Senate majority leader, becoming the first Democrat to formally challenge Chuck Schumer for the job just weeks after the party won a new majority. The announcement turns a quiet revolt inside the caucus into an open contest that will be settled by a closed-door vote on Dec. 1.
Van Hollen, 67, announced his bid in an interview on MS NOW. He said more than 10 of the 55 Democratic senators and senators-elect have pledged to support him. Schumer, 75, who has led the Senate Democratic caucus since 2017, said he has the votes to win. The leader is chosen by a simple majority of the caucus in a secret ballot.
The practical stakes are about who sets the agenda for the new majority. Van Hollen said he would use every available tool to end the Iran war, starting with the government funding measure needed to avoid a December shutdown. He also said he would try to reverse President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” get money out of politics and tackle corruption.
Why the challenge surfaced now
The move follows weeks of attempts by grassroots progressives and some newly elected Democrats to draft Van Hollen as an alternative to Schumer. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Wednesday that he would not back Schumer and would support Van Hollen if he ran. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said she is “a no until and unless” she sees a full plan from any candidate.
Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan endorsed Van Hollen shortly after the announcement, saying Democrats “will require bold leadership.” Sanders and Slotkin went public just over a week after an election that was supposed to unite the party, a speed that has surprised even some of their colleagues.
Schumer has kept support from longtime colleagues. Sen. Angus King of Maine said Schumer “is one of the principal architects of the most successful election in modern history” and asked, “Why would you fire the manager when you just won the World Series?” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who ran the party’s campaign arm, said Schumer helped register 100,000 new voters in Mississippi, where Scott Colom just won a stunning victory. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii urged colleagues to “move quickly to vote, unify, and get to work.”
The fight comes after Democrats flipped at least eight seats and now hold 55, with the Alaska race still uncalled. The party takes the Senate majority on Jan. 4. The contest has its roots in the same midterm sweep that gave Democrats the Senate and the House.
What happens next
Senate Democrats are scheduled to vote behind closed doors on Dec. 1. The contest could run for weeks into a Congress that has yet to be sworn in, and the outcome will shape the party’s agenda from the start.
Schumer responded to the challenge by saying he welcomes “a discussion about the future of our caucus” and that he has the votes to continue as leader. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together — 55 seats and counting is an amazing result,” he said. Van Hollen said he is the underdog but that “people will have to make a decision, one way or the other” on whether they want change or the status quo.
Van Hollen was elected to the House in 2002 after serving in the Maryland legislature and became a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi on budget issues. He moved to the Senate in 2016. He is also said to be weighing a run for president in 2028.
The result is a leadership fight that will define the new Democratic majority before it takes office. The next public test is the Dec. 1 caucus vote, where Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed and other newcomers will help decide who leads them.
