Schumer has votes for majority leader despite some Democratic dissent

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he will be reelected as Senate majority leader next month when Democrats hold leadership elections despite the dissent of a handful of newly elected senators who threatened not to support him serving another term as leader.

“The issue is not me. I’ll be reelected as majority leader. But the issue is focusing on the American people and what they want,” Schumer told reporters when asked about victorious candidates who said they would not vote for him as leader, including Adam Hamilton in Kansas, Troy Jackson in Maine and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.

Schumer needs only a majority of the Democratic caucus, which is projected to have at least 54 members and possibly as many as 56 in 2027.

Other Democrats who have threatened not to back Schumer for leader include Juliana Stratton, who won Illinois’s Senate seat, and Peggy Flanagan, who won Minnesota’s Senate seat.

Beyond that, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has called for a “new generation” of leaders in the party.

While some Democrats have said they want new leadership in the Senate or have called more vaguely for generational change, it appears Schumer will remain firmly in control of the Senate Democratic caucus with broad support after Democrats had a huge night on Tuesday.

Schumer played a key role in recruiting successful candidates in key races, such as former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) in North Carolina, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) in Ohio and potentially former Rep. Mary Peltola (D) in Alaska.

Schumer, however, has been sure to give credit to his Senate Democratic colleagues for Tuesday’s pickup of at least seven Republican-held seats across the country.

“We spent a year and a half in the Senate as a Democratic caucus — I got to thank my caucus members. They were amazing as well, not only in finding unity in these issues, but in, you know, if you looked at a map a week before the election, you probably have three-quarters of the caucus in different states campaigning with our candidates,” he said during an interview with MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”

Asked about criticism of his leadership from frustrated Democrats in recent years, Schumer responded, “This is not about me.”

“This is about the American people and what they want and what they need and what we can do to help them. Plain and simple,” he said Wednesday at a press conference at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters.