Sen. Charles E. Schumer is confident he’ll earn his caucus’ support to serve as Senate majority leader next Congress, but some Democrats are seeking reassurances before committing to back him.
No Democrat has stepped up to challenge the New Yorker for the majority leader post, as some of the newly elected senators joining his caucus say they would prefer new leadership.
“If we have another option, I’m going to look at that and say who is best placed to get us action to get money out of politics, put money in pockets, pass Medicare for all,” Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed said on CNN.
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Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota Democrat, has also reiterated her opposition to Mr. Schumer and a call for new leadership post-election.
Other newly triumphant Democrats, including Kansas Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton and Maine Sen.-elect Troy Jackson, also called for new leadership during their campaigns.
Mr. Schumer tried to shut down such talk during a press conference on Wednesday.
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“The issue is not me. I’ll be reelected as majority leader,” he said. “But the issue is focusing on the American people and what they want.”
Democrats overperforming expectations on Tuesday, with many of Mr. Schumer’s hand-picked candidates helping flip seven Republican-held seats and two more still uncalled, does not suggest an uprising is imminent.
However, left-wing advocacy groups such as Indivisible and Our Revolution are still pushing for Democrats to replace Mr. Schumer.
“Schumer has a lower approval rating than Trump. After our seismic wins, we need new leadership to define this new era of politics,” Indivisible posted on social media.
“The American people did not elect Democrats by historic margins just to bend the knee and go back to business as usual,” the group said. “Senate Democrats need to listen to the voters and turn the page on status quo politics.”
No one has announced a challenge to Mr. Schumer, but there is still time for another Senate Democrat to enter the race.
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However, it would be an uphill climb for anyone to beat Mr. Schumer in the closed-door, secret-ballot leadership election. He needs only a majority of the caucus to vote for him.
Mr. El-Sayed said he would support Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, if he runs for the leadership post.
“I think he’d be an amazing Senate majority leader,” the Michigander said. “Of course, that’s a choice he has to make about whether or not he wants to pursue that. It seems like he’s quite interested in another goal politically, which would mean that it would be very difficult for him to do that.”
Mr. Van Hollen told The Washington Post on Wednesday he would not run for majority leader, despite support among other left-wing members of the party to challenge Mr. Schumer, because he’s considering a presidential bid.
“No. Because as I’ve said, I’m very actively kicking the tires on 2028 because I think that these debates will be resolved during that process,” he said. “I do believe that is where this debate about the future of the Democratic Party and the future of politics in America will be centered.”
Mr. Van Hollen said Senate Democrats, before making any leadership decisions, “need to have a full, open and honest conversation within our caucus about how we’re going to use this power and the responsibility that’s been given to us at this critical moment.”
He separately told Bloomberg Wednesday that Democrats should not agree to back Mr. Schumer or any other aspiring majority leader without reassurances that the party will pursue a “bold agenda” targeting entrenched corporate interests in Washington.
“No one should be committing to anybody as the next Democratic leader without having that conversation,” Mr. Van Hollen said. “We need commitments.”
The senator said voters elected populist Democrats “to unrig an economy that’s been built to serve billionaires and big corporations.”
He added, “It’s not a time for incrementalism. It’s a time to move forward a very bold kitchen table agenda.”
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