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Chris Van Hollen Becomes First Named Challenger to Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader
By Eleanor Ever Loyal
Photo: U.S. Senate / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Thursday that he will challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, creating the first formally declared contest for leadership of a Democratic caucus preparing to take control of the chamber in January.
Democrats flipped the Senate in the midterms, with the reported result standing at 55 Democratic seats and 44 Republican seats, with one race still uncalled. Schumer, the current Democratic leader, has led the Senate Democratic caucus since 2017. NBC News reported that Van Hollen’s entry marks the first challenge to Schumer and described it as likely to be the most serious contest Schumer has faced for the position.
“In this election, the American people called for change,” Van Hollen said in his announcement, according to NBC News. “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 Democrats needed “new leadership” to meet the moment. “This is not about any one person — it’s about answering the call of the American people. That is why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader,” he said, according to NBC and The Guardian.
Schumer responded on X that he welcomed discussion about the caucus’s future and asserted that he had sufficient support to remain leader. “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 wrote, according to NBC and The Guardian.
The precise date of the leadership election is not described consistently across the reporting. NBC News says Democratic senators will vote in December in a closed-door election requiring a simple majority of the caucus. The Guardian reports that the closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December. Axios, meanwhile, identifies Dec. 1 as the date when senators are expected to cast secret ballots. Earlier reporting had cited Nov. 18–19, but none of the four reports in the current record gives those dates.
The contest comes amid a broader debate over the direction of Democratic leadership after the party’s election gains. MS NOW reported that Van Hollen has argued Democrats need a new strategy and a new leader. The Guardian reported that the question of Schumer’s re-election has divided the caucus, with many senators declining to say publicly how they intend to vote.
NBC reported that Schumer remains favored to retain the position, while also noting grassroots progressives and some newly elected Democratic senators had sought to draft Van Hollen as an alternative. None of the four reports names a senator as publicly backing Van Hollen.
One incoming senator, Scott Colom of Mississippi, has declined so far to commit to Schumer. In an interview with MS NOW, Colom said he had spoken with Schumer and thanked him for his role in the campaign, but rejected the suggestion that Schumer had recruited him. Asked whether he would support Schumer for majority leader, Colom said: “I gotta know my options, and I’m not trying to be cute.”
The Guardian reported that Schumer has been speaking with Democratic senators since the election about an agenda for 2027 and previously told the Associated Press: “I’m going to win it.”
No whip count has been reported in the four accounts, and the reporting does not identify how many senators currently support either candidate. The leadership election will determine who leads Senate Democrats as they move from an election victory toward taking the majority in January.
Eleanor Ever Loyal
Lead Counsel and National Desk, The Library Media
Update, November 13: Senator-elect Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota has backed Senator Chris Van Hollen’s challenge to Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, The Hill reported — the second senator to publicly support Van Hollen, after Senator Bernie Sanders. (The Hill, November 13, 2026.)
Update, November 13: Senator Chris Van Hollen said Friday that he wants to abolish the Senate filibuster and ruled out a 2028 presidential run, The Hill reported. Van Hollen made the remarks to reporters at the What’s Next conference in Washington, D.C., as he presses his challenge to Senator Chuck Schumer for the Democratic leadership. (The Hill, November 13, 2026.)
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Update, Friday, November 13: Sen. Bernie Sanders is backing Van Hollen for Senate Democratic leader, Fox News reported — the first senator publicly named behind the challenge. The Guardian’s live coverage on Friday described Van Hollen pressing his challenge as Democrats face their first big test after the midterms.
