Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced on Thursday, November 12, that he will challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, NPR reports. The challenge turns the Democrats' midterm sweep into a leadership fight days after the election, with the secret-ballot vote set for December 1, according to CNN. Van Hollen says voters want change from the status quo. Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, says he has the votes to stay. The NPR story ranked No. 4 in Google News top news on November 13, and Van Hollen ranked No. 7 in X trending.
Van Hollen announced the challenge in an MS NOW interview
Van Hollen made the announcement on Thursday in an interview with MS NOW host Jen Psaki, CNN reports. In a statement carried by NPR, he said the moment demands new leadership and that voters sent a clear message in the midterms that they want change from the status quo.
The move is a sharp turn from days earlier. Van Hollen told CNN on Saturday, November 7, that seeking the job was not his focus, noting that he was also interested in running for president. By Thursday afternoon he said he was still actively listening to members on the topic, CNN reports, and he announced the run later that day.
The vote is December 1, and the winner leads a 55-seat majority
The closed-ballot leadership election is scheduled for December 1, CNN reports, and NPR puts the secret-ballot vote in early December. Whoever wins will preside over a Democratic majority of 55 seats, NPR reports, though that could grow to 56 depending on the final tally in the Alaska Senate race.
Democrats flipped eight seats in the midterms and will enter January with at least 55 senators, CNN reports. Schumer needs just majority support from his caucus to win, CNN reports, so the contest comes down to whether Van Hollen can pull enough of the 55 to his side. The Senate fight mirrors the House, where Republicans picked Jim Jordan as their minority leader earlier in the week.
The caucus split is already public
Opposition to Schumer is out in the open. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who aligns with Democrats, said he would oppose Schumer, NPR reports, and Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin told reporters she is seeking change. Incoming Democrats Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota have also expressed opposition to Schumer's bid, NPR reports.
CNN names three more incoming senators in the change camp: Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Troy Jackson of Maine and Annie Andrews of South Carolina have reaffirmed that they want a new leader. Van Hollen told MS NOW host Jen Psaki he has "more than 10" commitments, CNN reports, and said the race remains fluid, while conceding he starts behind.
Schumer's camp has answered quickly. Maine independent Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, endorsed Schumer, CNN reports, and NPR names Arizona's Ruben Gallego, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Maryland's Angela Alsobrooks among the Democrats publicly backing him. Schumer posted on X after the announcement that he has the votes to continue as Democratic leader, NPR reports, and told reporters on Tuesday, Nov. 10, two days before the announcement, "I am confident I will be elected majority leader," CNN reports.
Van Hollen says he would use the full power of the Senate
Van Hollen said he would be different from Schumer because he would use the Senate's full power to respond to voters' desires to end the Iran war and lower the cost of living, CNN reports. He also promised he would not intervene in primaries for open Senate seats, as Schumer has.
That last point is personal as well as procedural. Van Hollen was the first Democratic senator to endorse El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate primary, CNN reports, in a race where El-Sayed faced Rep. Haley Stevens, who had Schumer's quiet support. El-Sayed has since suggested he would back Van Hollen as a potential caucus leader, CNN reports.
Van Hollen, 67, was elected to the Senate in 2016 after more than a decade in the House, NPR reports. NPR notes he gained national attention last year lobbying for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who had been wrongfully deported to a prison in El Salvador.
On the boards, Van Hollen was the only politics name in X's top 10
Van Hollen ranked No. 7 on X in the November 13 morning pull, the only politics term in the top 10. Giants led the list at No. 1, Microsoft sat at No. 2, and "Happy Friday the 13th" held No. 8, so the politics name shared the top 10 with football terms, one tech name and one seasonal greeting. Jameis ranked No. 3, Nabers No. 4, Diggs No. 5 and Jayden Daniels No. 6 above him, with JJ McCarthy at No. 9 and #RaiseHail at No. 10 below him.
Google News told the same story in a different register. The NPR story ranked No. 4 in top news, below the No. 2 story on the protein ad that helped flip Mississippi and above the No. 5 story on the Kansas governor win, both politics stories from the same midterm wave. That pattern suggests the leadership fight is still riding the midterm wave, and the next data point is the December 1 ballot.
