Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced on Thursday that he will run for Senate majority leader against New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, setting up the party’s first contested Senate leadership election in decades after Democrats won back the chamber in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
The closed-door, secret-ballot election is scheduled for early December, ahead of the new Congress convening in January 2027. The winner will preside over a Democratic caucus of at least 55 seats (and potentially 56 depending on an uncalled race in Alaska), giving the majority leader control over the Senate floor schedule, committee strategy and legislative priorities during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term.
Van Hollen, 67, framed his bid around voter frustration in the midterm elections, in which Democrats also won a majority in the House of Representatives. According to Reuters, Van Hollen said voters called for “a change from the status quo that isn’t working for working people.”
“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” Van Hollen said in his statement. “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.”
In an interview with MSNOW, Van Hollen said he had the support of more than 10 of the 55 Democratic caucus members known to be voting, while acknowledging he enters the race as the “underdog” against the 75-year-old Schumer. Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017 and previously predicted he would not face a challenger, issued a statement on Thursday welcoming discussion about the caucus’s future while asserting that he already has the votes needed to remain Democratic leader.
Where Senate Democrats Stand on the Leadership Race
Van Hollen picked up immediate backing from incoming Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, who did not initially have Schumer’s support during his campaign. “I called on Sen. @ChrisVanHollen to lead our caucus as a candidate back in April because he leads with courage and experience,” El-Sayed wrote on X on Thursday night, as reported by the Associated Press. “We need both right now. Which is why I’m proud to stand with him in his bid to lead our Senate majority.”
Reporting varies on the position of Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats. Reuters reported that both El-Sayed and Sanders “said they would support Van Hollen.” The Associated Press noted that while Sanders and Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin held a press conference on Tuesday calling for new leadership, neither endorsed a specific candidate at that event.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Slotkin said she was “not actively seeking this job” herself but was “seeking change.” According to CBS News, Slotkin added, “Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different,” and said, “I’m a no until and unless I see that from anyone.”
Schumer retains wide institutional backing after recruiting candidates who helped Democrats flip eight Senate seats in the midterms, including victories by incoming Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown over Republican Senator Jon Husted and Democrat Scott Colom in Mississippi. Brown, Maine Independent Senator Angus King and Nevada Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto all stated on Thursday that they will vote for Schumer.
“Why would you fire the manager when you just won the World Series?” King said in a statement. “Chuck Schumer is one of the principal architects of the most successful election in modern history, and I see no reason to change the leadership that helped make that success possible.”
Cortez Masto echoed that view on X late Thursday, writing, “Leader Schumer was instrumental in Democrats flipping 8 – soon to be 9 – Senate seats and securing a historic majority. I will be supporting him as our Democratic leader.”
Policy Differences and What Comes Next
Van Hollen has served in the Senate since 2017 after 14 years in the House of Representatives and has hinted at a possible 2028 presidential campaign. Last week, he told Reuters that the midterms showed voters wanted a different kind of politics and argued that Democrats should not be overly cautious in challenging corporations, billionaires and special interests.
He has urged the party to pursue a working-class economic agenda, hold the Trump administration accountable for “gross corruption,” and work to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. On foreign policy, Van Hollen has criticized Israel’s military assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories. Earlier this week, Van Hollen and 10 Senate colleagues pressed congressional leaders to remove provisions from the annual defense policy bill that would expand weapons development and intelligence sharing with Israel.
Schumer has led the caucus through both majority and minority stretches since 2017, serving as majority leader from 2021 to 2025 before Republicans took control of the chamber. Following the Nov. 3 elections, Democrats hold 55 Senate seats to the Republicans’ 44. In the uncalled Alaska contest, the Democratic candidate held a 2.2 percentage point lead over the Republican with 88% of votes counted as of late Thursday, while Senate Democrats prepare for their secret-ballot leadership vote in early December.