Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was praised for landing a series of blue-chip battleground Senate recruits for the midterm elections, but those same candidates are avoiding whether they’d support the Senate minority leader staying at the helm of the Democratic caucus.
In the four states Democrats see as key to retaking the majority — Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio — none of the candidates endorsed by Schumer are willing to say publicly they’re prepared to return the favor, if elected to the upper chamber.
So too is mum the word for establishment-backed contenders in Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa, underscoring the hands-off approach embraced across the map by Senate hopefuls for a party leader who’s faced calls from progressive outsiders for his ouster over the handling of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The strategy may bring poor short-term optics for Schumer and give Republicans and Democratic primary opponents something to attack his handpicked candidates on. But the alternative of staking out a position could give critics even more political “ammunition.”
“It’s a very smart move not to give your enemy something to attack you with,” said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf, who advised former President Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Why give them any ammunition? Say nothing. And stay to the issues, not to the personalities.”
Schumer did not respond to a request for comment.
Senate leadership elections will occur in the weeks following the midterm elections and mark the first unofficial votes that senators-elect cast before they’re sworn in at the start of the new Congress on Jan. 3, 2027. Outgoing members will not get a say.
Hallie Shoffner, the Democratic nominee in a longshot bid to unseat Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) from a “solid” red seat, described Schumer as an embodiment of the “out-of-touch Democratic Left,” a conclusion others in her party agree with but will often only admit privately.
“Respectfully, I think Chuck Schumer should sit down and go spend some time with the grandchildren I’m sure he has,” Shoffner said in an interview. “Yes, I’m a Democrat. But before anything else, I’m an Arkansan. I am not a lockdown vote for the national Democratic Party, and Chuck Schumer can get bent if he tries to pressure me into something that isn’t right for the people of Arkansas.”
Although unwilling to commit publicly, Schumer has strong preexisting relationships with Maine’s Gov. Janet Mills, Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, and North Carolina’s Roy Cooper. And Brown, a former senator, previously voted for Schumer as leader. None responded to requests for comment.
Mills’s primary opponent, oyster farmer and progressive insurgent Graham Platner, echoed other outsiders last year in calling for Schumer to lose his leadership post over his government shutdown dealings with Republicans. Both Platner and Mills are vying for the Democratic nomination to take on centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
In Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) is retiring, a spokesperson for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said she was noncommittal. She previously equated weighing in on Schumer before the election to “putting the cart before the horse.” Stevens is supported by Schumer and the Senate’s “ModSquad” of centrist Democrats. The lone exceptions are the two ModSquad senators from Michigan, Peters and Elissa Slotkin, who remain neutral.
Stevens’s Democratic opponents are Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul el Sayed. McMorrow opposes Schumer; el Sayed did not respond.
In Minnesota, where Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) is retiring, the campaigns of establishment favorite Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) and progressive rival Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D-MN) said their candidates were noncommittal.
In Iowa, state Sen. Zach Wahls opposes Schumer, while state Rep. Josh Turek, who has received help from Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, did not respond. They’re seeking to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) in a largely safe GOP seat.
Former Rep. Mary Peltola, who’s running in Alaska against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), did not respond.
The divide on the campaign trail has transcended to Capitol Hill, where Senate Democrats are split over the candidates they’ve endorsed. Lawmakers such as Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have at times cut against Schumer’s preferences to side with the more liberal option, with such divisions in the Democratic Caucus playing out particularly across Maine, Minnesota, Michigan, and Iowa.
BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF DEMOCRATS SEEN THROUGH PRISM OF BITTER SENATE PRIMARIES
Corbin Trent, a progressive organizer who’s worked for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), described the lack of commitments to support Schumer as further evidence that the party is “ready for a rebirth” with new leadership.
“I think there’s some reality to deal with,” Trent said. “Whether you’re an establishment candidate, whether you’re a left-wing candidate … if you’re genuinely trying to analyze the condition of this country and then improve it, then you’re looking for change.”
