Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Thursday that he would challenge Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York for majority leader, prompting a clash among Democrats just as they celebrated their new majority and planned to take control of Congress in January. The move by Van Hollen, a progressive Democrat elected to the Senate in 2016 after seven terms in the House representing the Washington, D.C., suburbs, comes as some senators and Democratic activists have called for an alternative to Schumer, a moderate whom they see as too tied to the party establishment to lead a newly revitalized party in the next Congress. Making his announcement in an interview on MS Now on Thursday night, Van Hollen said his challenge to Schumer was “not about one individual.” Instead, he said, it was to ensure that Democrats answered “the call of the American people” in the midterm elections, which he said were to “reduce costs” and end the war against Iran. He said he had spoken to a large number of Democratic senators, including incoming members, and did not believe Schumer had the race locked up, saying he had “more than 10” of the 55 Democratic senators and senators-elect behind him. Helpless? said. “Yeah”. Van Hollen, who is also said to be weighing a run for president in 2028, had emerged as the favorite to challenge Mr. Schumer for the job and had expressed a growing willingness to do so in recent days. Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who aligns with Democrats, said this week that he would oppose Mr. Schumer and had encouraged Mr. Van Hollen to become a candidate. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you’re in Reader mode, exit and log in to your Times account or subscribe to all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Do you want all of The Times? Subscribe.
