The senator netted key endorsements from progressives, activists, and unions in his quest to oust Chuck Schumer. But he still faces an uphill battle.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduces Democratic candidate for the US Senate Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, during a volunteer appreciation event at Black Heart of Saint Paul on August 8, 2026, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
(Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen jumped into the race for Senate majority leader Tuesday night, providing a clear progressive challenge to what New York Senator Chuck Schumer had hoped would be a smooth transition into the leadership post following big Democratic gains in the midterm elections.
Even as Schumer—who has led Senate Democrats since 2017—claimed that he maintains more than enough support to prevail in an expected early December caucus vote, Van Hollen indicated in a Thursday night interview that at least 10 of his colleagues had already expressed interest in his bid. And he said he hopes to have serious conversations in coming days with senators of every ideological bent, background, and region.
Van Hollen received immediate support from Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, one of the highest-profile newcomers to a Senate Democratic caucus that now has 55 members—and could grow to 56 if Mary Peltola wins in Alaska. Peggy Flanagan, the new senator-elect from Minnesota, added her endorsement of Van Hollen on Friday morning. The Marylander also attracted support from activist groups, a key union, and prominent progressives such as Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who had already signaled his preference for Van Hollen, and who celebrated the Marylander’s announcement as a step that would help build “a Democratic Party that will stand up to powerful special interests, take on the billionaire class and fight for working families.”
Van Hollen, a Capitol Hill veteran and savvy election strategist who had been exploring a 2028 presidential bid, has emerged as a progressive favorite in the leadership race with Schumer for a variety of reasons, including his vow to provide “not a penny” of funding for the war in Iran. He has also argued that Senate Democrats should push for wage hikes, taxes on the rich, reining in AI, and a new approach to campaigns that rejects money from AIPAC, crypto interests, and influence-purchasing billionaires.
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Reflecting on the 2026 election results—which saw Democrats take control of the House and Senate and make huge gains in states that as recently as two years ago had backed President Trump and right-wing Republicans—Van Hollen declared on Thursday, “In this election, the American people called for change. They called for a change from Donald Trump’s disastrous policies—but even bigger than that, a change from the status quo that isn’t working for working people.”
“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” added the senator. “This is not about any one person—it’s about answering the call of the American people.”
Van Hollen followed that message up with interviews in which he promised to challenge a rigged system that has stalled progress on everything from Medicare for All healthcare reforms to a foreign-policy shift that would “end the American taxpayer blank check to the government of Israel.” In particular, he focused on the role that big-money influence on politics plays in undermining workers and unions while benefiting billionaires and expanding wealth inequality.
“We saw a huge outburst of democracy on Election Day—red states, blue states, purple states—and it wasn’t only a rejection of Donald Trump and his corruption and his wars and his cruelty,” the senator told MS Now. “It was also about a call for a larger change to take on a broken economic system that’s rigged in favor of the very wealthy against working people, led by a corrupt political system.”
El-Sayed, for whom Van Hollen campaigned in an August primary where the Michigander beat centrist Haley Stevens, has long encouraged Van Hollen to mount a leadership bid. And he was quick to jump on board Thursday.
“Michiganders demand money out of politics, money in pockets, and Medicare for All,” said El-Sayed. “Senator Chris Van Hollen offers both the courage to go toe-to-toe with the Trump administration to deliver for working people and the experience to maneuver the Senate caucus. It’s why he has my full support to lead our caucus.”
Flanagan also cited sentiments in her home state to make the case for Van Hollen. “Minnesotans are demanding change. Democrats need to deliver. That starts with new voices in our leadership,” she said. “I believe Chris Van Hollen is the leader and fighter we need to bring about real change, so no American is left behind.”
The Working Families Party, which is influential in the politics of Schumer’s New York State, has expressed opposition to his leadership bid. So have high-profile progressive and activist groups such as MoveOn and Indivisible. And climate activists with the Sunrise Movement called Thursday for Schumer to “STEP ASIDE as Senate Majority Leader in favor of Senator Chris Van Hollen.”
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The 600,000-member International Association of Machinists union, which had previously called on Schumer to stand down, gave Van Hollen’s bid an enthusiastic boost.
Describing Van Hollen as “a proven champion of working people who will fight to unrig an economy stacked against working families,” Machinists International Union president Brian Bryant said, “Senator Van Hollen understands this is a fight of Workers vs. Billionaires and has the courage to deliver the change voters demanded. Workers did their part on election night. Now it’s Senate Democrats’ turn. Senator Van Hollen is the right choice.”
The momentum for Van Hollen is real, but the final choice rests with Democratic senators, many of whom remain closely tied to Schumer. The Maryland senator acknowledges that he has a lot of work ahead of him, but he continues to argue, “We shouldn’t have a coronation.”
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