# Van Hollen says 15 senators back his bid to replace Schumer

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/chris-van-hollen-says-his-majority-leader-challenge-to-chuck-schumer-is-gaining-support/
- Published: 2026-11-15T19:08:37+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-15T19:15:10+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Times (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/15/us/politics/van-hollen-schumer-democrats-majority-leader.html
- Topics: Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Van Hollen says 15 colleagues now support his leadership bid.
- Schumer says he has enough commitments to retain the role.
- Democrats are due to hold a secret ballot on 1 December.

## Summary

Van Hollen says his bid to replace Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader is gaining support, intensifying a contest over the direction of the newly empowered caucus. He said 15 colleagues now back him, up from more than 10, and argued that the race remains open despite Schumer’s claim to have enough commitments to retain the role.

The secret-ballot election is scheduled for 1 December, and the winner needs a simple majority of the Democratic caucus, which will have at least 55 seats including allied independents. Van Hollen, 67, has challenged Schumer, 75, over funding for the Iran war and his involvement in Democratic primaries; Schumer’s allies cite candidates he helped recruit who won seats Democrats flipped or are on track to flip.

## Coverage

- [New York Times: Van Hollen says 15 senators back his bid to replace Schumer](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/15/us/politics/van-hollen-schumer-democrats-majority-leader.html)
- [The Guardian: Chris Van Hollen says he has path to win Senate leader over Chuck Schumer](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/15/chris-van-hollen-senate-majority-leader)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.