Van Hollen Challenges Schumer for Senate Democratic Leader After Midterm Sweep

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said late Thursday he will run for Senate majority leader, setting up the first contested race for the Democrats' top Senate job in decades and a direct challenge to Chuck Schumer.

Van Hollen, 67, announced his bid in a post on X on Thursday night. The party swept the midterm elections on November 3, winning back both chambers of Congress, and takes charge in January.

"In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people and fueled by political corruption," Van Hollen wrote. "To deliver, we need new leadership. That's why I'm running for Senate Majority Leader."

The move puts him up against Schumer, 75, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017. Schumer has said he has the votes to keep the job. The contest will be settled by a closed-door, secret-ballot vote in early December, before the new Congress is seated.

Van Hollen is the first senator to openly challenge Schumer, though pressure on the New York Democrat has been building for months. Schumer drew heavy criticism from inside his own party over his handling of the Democratic caucus during Donald Trump's second term as president, and several prominent Democrats have now said openly they want a change at the top.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said this week he would not support Schumer staying on. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, who won his seat in the midterms, has backed Van Hollen. Representative Ro Khanna of California added his support on Friday, calling on every Democratic senator to get behind the Maryland senator.

Khanna framed the choice in policy terms. In a post on X, he said Van Hollen would commit to ending funding for the war in Iran, allowing a vote on Medicare for All, and ending US aid to Israel. "This is a time for new leadership," Khanna wrote.

Van Hollen has not laid out a full agenda of his own yet. In an interview with MS NOW, he said he had the support of more than 10 senators, while acknowledging he was the underdog in the race. He has also hinted at a possible presidential run in 2028.

Van Hollen has served in Congress since 2003, spending 14 years in the House before winning his Senate seat in 2016. He took office on January 3, 2017, and his current term runs to January 3, 2029. The son of former American diplomats, he is one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of Israel and a champion of progressive causes.

That profile is part of what makes the challenge notable. Van Hollen is only eight years younger than Schumer, so the race is less about age than about direction. His supporters argue the party needs a sharper break from the leadership that steered it through the Trump years. Schumer's allies counter that he has the experience and the votes, and that a leadership fight weeks before Democrats take power is a distraction the party cannot afford.

Senate Democrats will elect their leader next month, and the winner will run the caucus when the new Congress opens in January, with a majority to protect and a Republican president to confront.

For now, the race is a test of how far the midterm results have shifted the party. Voters handed Democrats both chambers. Van Hollen is betting they also want new faces at the top.