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Ongoing story / Chuck Schumer

The race to lead the Senate after the 2026 midterms

Overview · reviewed November 14, 2026

After Democrats won control of the Senate in the November 2026 midterms, Chuck Schumer moved to become majority leader despite calls from progressive groups and from several incoming and sitting Democratic senators for new leadership.[1][2][3] On November 12, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced that he would challenge Schumer, with Sen. Bernie Sanders's backing, while Schumer said he had the votes to keep the job.[3] On the Republican side, John Thune kept his post as party leader in the new minority after conservatives tried to delay the vote.[4][5]

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On November 12, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced that he would challenge Schumer, with Sen. Bernie Sanders's backing, while Schumer said he had the votes to keep the job.[3] On the Republican side, John Thune kept his post as party leader in the new minority after conservatives tried to delay the vote.[4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 545 tracked outlets (0 left, 2 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 476 tracked outlets (2 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 7%, 33 of 471 tracked outlets (8 left, 17 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): 21%, 99 of 474 tracked outlets (31 left, 39 center, 29 right), so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 7 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (4 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 9, 2026 (so far)31392999 of 47421%
Nov 2, 2026817833 of 4717%
Oct 12, 20262327 of 4761%
Aug 10, 20260202 of 545under 1%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 13, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Bangor Daily News

    Maine union leader says Troy Jackson is likely to back Chuck Schumer’s challenger

Background

Before the election, the Associated Press reported that Schumer had broad support in his caucus but that the midterms could decide his future, with some Democrats saying he should make way for a new generation.[6] After Democrats flipped Republican seats in states including Texas, South Carolina, Kansas and Iowa, a progressive group called for him to be replaced,[1] and incoming senators including Annie Andrews, Adam Hamilton and Abdul El-Sayed indicated they would not support him, though The Guardian reported that he likely still had enough votes to remain leader.[1] El-Sayed urged Sen. Chris Van Hollen to lead instead; a source close to Van Hollen said he was not planning a challenge,[7] though Van Hollen later said he was "listening to all the people from around the country that were calling for big change."[3]

Read the full background (2 more paragraphs)

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elissa Slotkin said they would not support Schumer,[3] while Sen. John Fetterman backed him.[8] Jon Stewart called on Democrats to choose someone else,[9] and thousands marched in Times Square under signs reading "No Schumer, No Jeffries."[10] Schumer said he was confident he would continue to lead.[2] Another Democratic senator came out against him, calling his leadership "same old, same old."[11] On the night of November 12, Van Hollen said he would run, saying "We need new leadership," and Sanders and Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed backed him; many senators declined to say publicly how they would vote.[3] Sen. Angus King of Maine said he still backed Schumer, while a Maine union leader said Senator-elect Troy Jackson was likely to back his challenger.[12]

In August, Republican senators had rallied behind Thune after Trump declined to support him serving another term as leader.[13] Thune, who had led Senate Republicans in the majority, said the day after the election that he would run for minority leader.[4] Several Republican senators pushed to delay the leadership vote, a move that could have opened the way to a challenge,[14] and conservatives sought leverage over how he would handle the lame-duck session.[5] On November 10, in a closed-door secret ballot, Senate Republicans elected Thune and his leadership team for the new Congress.[5][15][16] The race to lead the House is followed in its own Story.

Supporting stories (16)
  1. Progressive group calls for Senate Dems to replace Schumer as leader
  2. Schumer faces skepticism among some Democrats over majority leader role
  3. Who is Chris Van Hollen, the senator challenging Chuck Schumer to be majority leader?
  4. Thune to run for minority leader
  5. Senate Republicans voting on whether to keep Thune as leader
  6. Chuck Schumer has broad support from his caucus, but midterms could decide his future as leader
  7. El-Sayed says he'd back Van Hollen as majority leader over Schumer
  8. Fetterman supporting Schumer in Majority Leader vote
  9. Jon Stewart warns against ‘bulls–t system’ ruling Dem party, calls for Chuck Schumer to step down after midterm sweep
  10. 'No Schumer, No Jeffries': Progressive Protesters March Through NYC Demanding Leadership Shakeup
  11. Top Dem senator comes out against Schumer for majority leader: ‘Same old, same old’
  12. Sen. Angus King still backing Schumer for Democratic leader
  13. GOP senators rally behind Thune in response to Trump jabs at leader
  14. Several Senate Republicans call for delaying party leadership election
  15. GOP holding House and Senate leadership votes this week
  16. House rejects Hegseth impeachment as GOP selects Jordan and Thune as leaders

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 20 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Sen. Angus King still backing Schumer for Democratic leaderHeadline from Maine Public · 2 outlets
  2. Top Dem senator comes out against Schumer for majority leader: ‘Same old, same old’Headline from AL.com · 3 outlets
  3. Jeffries and Schumer eye congressional leadership rolesHeadline from NEWS10 ABC · 3 outlets
  4. GOP holding House and Senate leadership votes this weekHeadline from WHDH Boston · 2 outlets
  5. House rejects Hegseth impeachment as GOP selects Jordan and Thune as leadersHeadline from PBS NewsHour · 3 outlets
  6. Fetterman supporting Schumer in Majority Leader voteHeadline from ABC 27 Harrisburg · 1 outlet
  7. This Democrat may challenge Chuck Schumer for leader: ‘The door is not shut’Headline from The Oregonian · 3 outlets
  8. Who is Chris Van Hollen, the senator challenging Chuck Schumer to be majority leader?Headline from MyNorthwest · 90 outlets
  9. Senate Republicans voting on whether to keep Thune as leaderHeadline from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette · 40 outlets
  10. 'No Schumer, No Jeffries': Progressive Protesters March Through NYC Demanding Leadership ShakeupHeadline from Breitbart News · 2 outlets
  11. Schumer faces skepticism among some Democrats over majority leader roleHeadline from KRDO · 5 outlets
  12. Several Senate Republicans call for delaying party leadership electionHeadline from The Columbian · 6 outlets
  13. Jon Stewart says Sen. Schumer doesn't understand 'urgency of the moment'Headline from News Nation Now · 6 outlets
  14. Schumer gives defiant 4-word answer for Democrats who want him out as leaderHeadline from The Oregonian · 3 outlets
  15. Jon Stewart warns against ‘bulls–t system’ ruling Dem party, calls for Chuck Schumer to step down after midterm sweepHeadline from New York Post · 3 outlets
  16. El-Sayed says he'd back Van Hollen as majority leader over SchumerHeadline from The Hill · 7 outlets
  17. Thune to run for minority leaderHeadline from Roll Call · 7 outlets
  18. Progressive group calls for Senate Dems to replace Schumer as leaderHeadline from The Hill · 17 outlets

October 2026

  1. Chuck Schumer has broad support from his caucus, but midterms could decide his future as leaderHeadline from WDIO Duluth · 7 outlets

August 2026

  1. GOP senators rally behind Thune in response to Trump jabs at leaderHeadline from The Hill · 2 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →