Sen. Charles E. Schumer’s hopes of reclaiming the majority leader’s gavel now rest on helping far‑left candidates running in marquee Senate races who cast him as part of the problem — and, in many cases, demand he hand over the leadership reins.
He’s already had to make nice with insurgent Democrats who knocked out his preferred picks in Maine and Michigan. Things could get even more awkward next week if Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeats Rep. Angie Craig in the Minnesota Senate primary.
“I’m appreciative of Leader Schumer’s work and leadership over many years, but we need a progressive champion to lead Senate Democrats, and that’s not Chuck Schumer,” Ms. Flanagan told Newsweek this year.
Mr. Schumer has become a go‑to target for left‑wing activists who argue he’s out of step with the party’s base — on Israel, on Wall Street — and a symbol of the Washington establishment they’re trying to topple.
That tension has come to a head in the primaries, where opposing Mr. Schumer has become a kind of litmus test for hard-left contenders promising to shake up a Washington establishment they argue is rigged for corporations and the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans.
The latest example came in Michigan, where Abdul El‑Sayed defeated Schumer‑backed Rep. Haley Stevens after campaigning on the idea that the Senate minority leader doesn’t want him anywhere near Washington and floated the idea that Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen should replace him.
Mr. Schumer and fellow New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, were left to congratulate Mr. El‑Sayed after he survived more than $70 million in spending against him — including over $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which cast the doctor’s worldview as radical and a threat to Israel.
In a joint statement, Mr. Schumer and Ms. Gillbrand credited him with running an “energetic campaign that inspired thousands of Michiganders.”
They added, “Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate. We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November.”
Mr. El‑Sayed returned the favor.
“At this point I am the only Democrat standing,” he said on CNN after squeaking out his victory, noting that he and Mr. Schumer “had a good, meaningful heart-to-heart conversation about what it takes to win in a state like Michigan and what needs to be done with Mike Rogers.
“So, I am looking forward to partnering alongside him, to win the Senate majority, to keep the state of Michigan and to win back the gavel for Democrats, so that we can start holding Donald Trump accountable.”
It was a notable shift from just days earlier, when Mr. El‑Sayed said Mr. Schumer “hates” his candidacy.
“If you’re Chuck Schumer, and your whole approach is that you get to talk to the money people and then dole out their corporate money to help elect the people who are going to do the things that corporations want — yeah, I’m a threat to your system,” Mr. El‑Sayed told Politico. “So, of course they are freaking out.”
That kind of frustration isn’t isolated. Across the map, other Democrats have been just as blunt about wanting new leadership.
In Maine, Troy Jackson — the Democratic Senate candidate in a race where Mr. Schumer’s preferred pick, Gov. Janet Mills, flamed out early — has also said it’s time for new leadership.
“The Democratic Party needs to have a different approach — getting people back in the party, getting working‑class, everyday people back in the party — and I don’t believe it’s going to happen with Senator Schumer,” he told The New York Times in July.
The party’s Senate nominee in Illinois, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, has also called for Mr. Schumer to be replaced, as has former Rep. Seth Moulton, who is challenging Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts.
Whether anyone could muster the support needed to replace Mr. Schumer atop the Democratic hierarchy remains a question.
Plus, Mr. Schumer could get some reinforcements in the upper chamber.
He recruited former Sen. Sherrod Brown to run in Ohio and former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska.
Also, Mr. Schumer is unlikely to face resistance from former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina or Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire if they win their Senate races.
And the New Yorker dodged a political bullet in Iowa, where state Rep. Josh Turek beat state Sen. Zach Wahls — who had made clear he wanted Mr. Schumer to step aside.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.