The announcement from Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, that he is challenging Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, for majority leader in the Senate is putting a spotlight on the divide in the Democratic Party that even a historic blue wave couldn't erase.
Schumer has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017 in both minority and majority leader roles and his backers say he helped usher in a 55-seat majority – 56 if Democrat Mary Peltola wins the still-uncalled Alaska Senate race.
But Schumer has been the target of progressive ire for the past several years and his critics say that voters sent a message in the Nov. 3 midterms that they're ready for change.
"In this election, Americans called on us to unrig an economy rigged against working people
& fueled by political corruption," Van Hollen wrote on social media after his announcement Nov. 12 on MS NOW. "To deliver, we need new leadership."
Schumer, meanwhile, wrote on social media: "I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together—55 seats and counting is an amazing result—and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader."
The decision will lie in part with the new group of Democratic senator-elects, like Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed, who rushed to social media to back Van Hollen immediately after his announcement.
At a Nov. 10 press conference, Schumer told reporters on Capitol Hill that he and Van Hollen are "friends" who "talk frequently" and are "united in lower costs, united in ending this damn war."
A similar debate on if there's a need for change on the GOP side earlier this week ended with Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, being reelected by his peers to lead Senate Republicans.
Democrats will hold their closed-door leadership election next month. Here's who is backing the New York Democrat and who is backing his Maryland challenger.
In Schumer's camp
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, voiced their support this week for Schumer to step into the role as majority leader.
"When the manager takes a World Series, you give them another contract," Gallego said at Schumer's Nov. 10 press conference, adding that the election was historic and "it's time for us to unify."
Gillibrand, at the same press conference, said that Democrats "went into these elections 100% unified" and "that was all Leader Schumer's decision making and effort to keep our caucus united." She added that Schumer invested in the Mississippi senate race a year prior to boost Scott Colom, who flipped the seat blue.
"That takes vision. It takes clarity of thought. It takes strategic leadership, and that is what Sen. Schumer has done," Gillibrand said. "And that is why you will see, despite all the rumblings, enormous gratitude for the hard work he has done to get us to this position."
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, also appeared beside Gillibrand, Gallego and Schumer at the press conference, although he did not specifically weigh in on who he would support and has not since said.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman told USA TODAY on Nov. 12, ahead of Van Hollen's official announcement, that it is "truly bizarre to me" that anyone would challenge Schumer.
"What's his record, other than yelling about anti-Israel stuff" and visiting the mistakenly deported Maryland man, Abrego Garcia in CECOT, the El Salvador prison, Fetterman said of Van Hollen. He later added, "Why are we arguing amongst ourselves. We are now going to be 56 and 44," in reference to the Democrat's majority number of seats.
Maine Sen. Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats, wrote Nov. 12 in a press release that he stands with Schumer.
"Chuck Schumer is one of the principal architects of the most successful election in modern history, and I see no reason to change the leadership that helped make that success possible," King wrote.
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Mastro also wrote on social media that she will support Schumer, as he " was instrumental in Democrats flipping 8 – soon to be 9 – Senate seats and securing a historic majority."
The senators supporting change
Ahead of Schumer's Nov. 10 press conference, Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, held a press conference on Senate leadership where they called for change. Sanders later said he would vote for Van Hollen, while Slotkin has not thrown her endorsement to him.
"If this campaign was about anything, it was about change, and the need for the Democratic Party in my view to move in a new and bold direction," Sanders said, adding that while he's known Schumer for 30 years and sees him as a hard worker, "the time is now for change." Sanders said he would not vote to reelect him.
Slotkin, who days earlier would not rule out challenging Schumer herself, said she was not "actively seeking this job."
"We need a new generation of leadership," Slotkin said. She went on to add that newly elected senators are, "from all kinds of new states" and Democrats "need leadership that's going to govern for the entirety of the caucus, for folks from blue states, purple states, and red states."
Slotkin said for her past two years in the Senate, she had yet to figure out what the Democrats' plan was, saying "you can't lead people if you can't lay out where you're going."
El-Sayed, Michigan's newest U.S. senator, wrote that he is supporting Van Hollen, saying "The American public spoke clearly last week. They rejected Trumpism. But we have yet to earn our mandate. That will require bold leadership."
New Mexico Sen.-elect Peggy Flanagan also threw her support behind Van Hollen after his announcement.
"Minnesotans are demanding change. Democrats need to deliver. That starts with new voices in our leadership," she wrote on social media alongside a photo of herself with the Maryland senator. "I believe @ChrisVanHollen is the leader and fighter we need to bring about real change, so no American is left behind."
And Kansas Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton said in a Nov. 8 interview on "Meet the Press" that he would not support Schumer, though he hasn't formally backed Van Hollen.
"I mean no disrespect for Chuck Schumer. I just really don't, and I've told him that as well. But I think, at least where I live in Kansas, he is kind of a polarizing figure," Hamilton said.
Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith is not in the group of newly elected lawmakers headed to Congress, but she also joins the list of names supporting Van Hollen.
"Minnesota made it clear, they’re tired of the status quo and ready for real change, and that starts with new leadership," Smith said in a post that also called Van Hollen "a close colleague and dear friend."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Schumer vs. Van Hollen: Who are Senate Democrats supporting for leader?
