Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a progressive favorite to run for majority leader, is keeping the door open to challenging Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for the position, just days after ruling out the possibility.
“The Senator has received an outpouring of calls on running for majority leader and is now in active listening mode,” said a person familiar with the senator’s thinking.
The statement marks a reversal from just after the election, when Van Hollen told a local Fox affiliate that he is focused on whether he can run a viable campaign for president in 2028 and that “I’ve made clear that I’m not looking to be the next Democratic leader.”
On Monday, the source cautioned that “the door is not shut” on a challenge, reflecting the influence of progressive Democrats who believe a contested election may be necessary to steer the caucus to the left next year, when Democrats will have comfortable majorities in both the House and Senate.
Schumer is in a stronger position to stay on as leader after the shocking rout of Republicans last Tuesday, an outcome that flipped at least seven seats, but that election also elected progressive voices who are critical of the minority leader and have promised to oppose him if sent to the Senate.
Among them, Sen.-elect Abdul el Sayed (D-MI) said this week that he would support Van Hollen if he runs in internal leadership elections.
If Van Hollen runs for Senate Majority Leader, he can kiss his presidential run goodbye.
I’d say go with Leeja Miller’s suggestion of Elizabeth Warren for Senate Majority Leader.
Good riddance then. The only reason he changed his tune when campaigning for his seat again was because a grassroots candidate who was actually for the people got quite a lot of support.
The only thing good I’ve seen him do was advocate for Kilmar. And even then, his statement about why he was doing it soured my opinion quite a bit.