Van Hollen Canvasses Democrats Before Dec. 1 Leadership Vote as Schumer Faces Revolt
Updated
Updated · ms.now · Nov 11
Van Hollen Canvasses Democrats Before Dec. 1 Leadership Vote as Schumer Faces Revolt
3 articles · Updated · ms.now · Nov 11
Summary
Chris Van Hollen said he is calling Senate Democratic colleagues and “actively listening” on who should lead the caucus ahead of its Dec. 1 leadership election.
The Maryland senator tied that outreach to a midterm anti-establishment mood, arguing Democrats must decide whether the caucus is hearing voters’ demands for change.
Chuck Schumer, 75, said he is confident he will remain majority leader, but Bernie Sanders said he would not back him and Elissa Slotkin demanded a “concrete plan” that is “definitively different.”
The fight also reflects older tensions over Schumer and the DSCC favoring “electable” primary candidates; Van Hollen pointed to newly elected senators Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson as winners who prevailed despite that resistance.
The maneuvering underscores a widening split between Senate Democrats’ establishment and progressive wings after the midterms, with Van Hollen emerging as a possible challenger.