'I'll be reelected as majority leader,' Schumer says

WASHINGTON — As Democrats look ahead to their new Senate majority for the next Congress, their current leader Charles E. Schumer made a prediction on Wednesday: “I’ll be reelected as majority leader.”

Schumer, a Democrat from New York, would be helming a larger caucus than most anticipated, ranging from 54 to 56 seats after the dust settles from Tuesday’s wins.

Not all the new incoming members say they will support the 75-year-old, and some have called for new blood. But so far, no formidable opponent has emerged.

“The issue is not me,” Schumer told reporters outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters on Wednesday morning when asked about working with those new senators. “The issue is focusing on the American people and what they want.”

The leadership election for Senate Democrats will likely take place in early December and include the senators-elect in a secret ballot race.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who won a Senate election against Republican Michele Tafoya, told NBC’s Meet the Press NOW in August, “I think it is time for new leadership,” when asked if she’d support Schumer.

“What I’ve heard from people all across Minnesota is they are ready for bold fighters. They are ready to ensure that we have voices that are grounded in making sure that people can afford the lives they want to live,” she said, adding she was looking forward to helping “to elect leadership that is ready for big, bold change.”

Schumer has served in both the minority and majority as Democratic leader after landing the job in 2017 when then-leader Harry Reid retired. He faces reelection in 2028.

Former state Senate President Troy Jackson of Maine, the Democrat who defeated Republican Sen. Susan Collins in her bid for a sixth term, told reporters on Monday, “I’ve already said that I told Sen. Schumer that I’m gonna support somebody else. It’s no different now.”

He said he would push Schumer to deliver on health care changes like “Medicare for All.”

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, who bested John Sununu in his bid to return to the Senate, said in an interview last week that “it’s very clear voters are hungry for new voices at the table and for a new generation of leadership in the Senate.”

“I’ve heard that throughout this campaign. I think above all, people want folks who understand the challenges out there and are going to fight with the urgency that these challenges deserve,” he said. “Too often, we’ve seen leadership flat-footed.”

His campaign did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about whether that was indicative of his support for Schumer.

Democrat Adam Hamilton, the pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist church who unseated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, told CNN in September: “I’m not supporting Schumer for leader.”

“I mean no disrespect for Chuck Schumer, but we need new leadership. We need new, younger leadership, young blood. I don’t mean just age, but people who are bringing fresh ideas and fresh leadership,” he said. “We’ve got to have leaders that can unite us, bring us together. Not just Democrats, but bring together Democrats and Republicans to solve real problems.”

“I think people are frustrated with the gridlock and the sense that people are not working together,” he added, pointing to Democrats blocking the farm bill in the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this year.

Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan, told MS NOW earlier this fall he would want to support Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen as leader.

“I would definitely support Sen. Chris Van Hollen and I would love to see him as Senate majority leader,” he said.

Van Hollen is seen as a presidential contender, and has been “kicking the tires” on 2028 instead of Senate leadership when he’s been asked.

El-Sayed told NBC’s Today Show on Wednesday, just hours after his race was called, “We need action. We need leadership toward that action. I’m interested to see, working with our caucus, to see what options we’ve got,” saying he hopes there is “two or more options” but not mentioning Van Hollen.

“I’m going to vote for the option that gives me the best chance at getting money out of politics, money in pockets, and Medicare for All,” he said.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton made it part of her Senate primary pitch earlier this year that she was the only Democrat in the race who didn’t support Schumer. “I’ve made it clear that I would not support Chuck Schumer as leader of the Democratic caucus because I think right now what I’m hearing from voters all across the state of Illinois is that they are fed up. They’re fed up with what’s happening in Washington,” she told political YouTube commentator Jack Cocchiarella in March.

A spokesperson for Stratton’s campaign reiterated Wednesday her position hasn’t changed. The campaigns of El-Sayed, Hamilton, Jackson and Flanagan did not immediately respond to questions Wednesday about their stances.

Even if some candidates were eager to distance themselves from establishment Democrats on the campaign trail before facing voters, it’s hard to deny that Schumer helped bring home a resounding victory for Democrats on Tuesday night.

So far, among Democratic incumbents, it’s not clear anyone would have the appetite to challenge Schumer, who flexed his political prowess and recruited several of the key flips last night, like former and incoming Sen. Sherrod Brown, who beat Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio to recapture the state for Democrats.

Having prevailed in a special election, Brown is expected to be seated before the end of the year.

A Democratic staffer familiar with the current mood of the caucus predicted: “Nope. Schumer will be the leader,” when asked if there was any serious challenger.

Former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota had a similar prediction. “Given the big night Senate Democrats had, I doubt anyone will challenge him. But some new members may withhold their vote, in keeping with their campaign comments,” Daschle said.

Schumer on Wednesday said Democrats will be united in addressing costs for the American people with what he described as “an amazing crop of new senators” and a “generational remake of the Senate map that is going to change America not only now, but on into the future.”

“These voters did not give us the majority so we can do whatever we want. They entrusted us with the majority to do what they, the American people, want,” he said. “Republicans received that opportunity two years ago and completely squandered it. The GOP misread Americans’ demand for change as a mandate to do Trump’s self-serving bidding, and Trump spent half his time talking about things that were irrelevant to their lives.”

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