WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Thursday he will run for Senate majority leader, challenging longtime Democratic leader Chuck Schumer after the party won control of the Senate in the midterm elections, The Associated Press reported.
“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “This is not about any one person — it’s about answering the call of the American people.”
Schumer has said he has the support needed to win. “I’m going to win it,” he told the AP in an interview last week.
The closed-door, secret-ballot election is expected in early December. It will be the first contested race for Democratic leader in decades, according to the AP.
The question has divided the caucus, and many senators have declined to say publicly how they will vote, the AP reported. Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them, and he has been talking with senators about an agenda for 2027.
Sources: KTAR News / The Associated Press. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: George Munger / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
