“This election was about change. People want new leadership here in the Senate, so I will not be supporting Chuck.” Sen. Bernie Sanders, Tuesday
Two sitting senators, one from the party’s left and one from its Michigan middle, have now said in public that they will not back Chuck Schumer as Democratic leader. Bernie Sanders told reporters on Tuesday he will not be supporting Schumer and that Schumer is “not going to run unopposed, I don’t think,” a day after Elissa Slotkin said she would not fully back Schumer until he presents “a plan” for everyday Americans.
Here is what the coverage has not done: counted what these statements are worth. The leadership election is a secret ballot, expected in early December, and it includes the senators-elect. A public refusal is not a vote against, and the only tally anyone has is the claim by Schumer’s own aides to The New York Times that he has “locked down another term.” No outlet has confirmed it, and no one has declared against him.
So we built the list from the reporting. Every name below is on the record, with the date it was said.
| Senator | Position on Schumer | When |
|---|---|---|
| Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) | Will not support him | Nov. 10 |
| Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) | Won’t fully back him without a plan; has not ruled out running | Nov. 8 to 9 |
| Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) | In “listening mode,” has not closed the door on a run | Nov. 9 |
| Annie Andrews (D-S.C., elect) | Won’t back him; wants “generational change” | Nov. 6 |
| Peggy Flanagan, Troy Jackson (elect) | Named by Roll Call as not backing him | Nov. 4 |
| Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich., elect) | Would support Van Hollen | Nov. 4 |
| Adam Hamilton (D-Kan., elect) | Has voiced reservations | Nov. 6 |
Read the middle column. Eight names, and not one of the eight has said “I will run.” Slotkin and Van Hollen have only declined to rule it out.
Slotkin’s own words are the most useful. She told HuffPost the country “made clear that they want a new generation of leadership with big and bold ideas,” and that anyone who wants the job should lay out a plan. Her condition is a document, not a name. Schumer could meet it in an afternoon, and that is the tell: this is a negotiation, not yet a revolt.
We think Democrats are doing this backwards, and Schumer is the one who benefits. Democrats won the Senate on a promise of change, and the party is about to hand a secret ballot to a caucus that will not say how it will vote. An opposition with no candidate and no deadline is a news cycle. Schumer has said only that he will be reelected, and so far the only people who have told him otherwise are the ones who do not have to face him in the room.
Sanders handed the caucus the cleanest test. He said Schumer will not run unopposed. If that is true, someone has to say so before December, with a name and a plan. If nobody does, the senators who now say they want a new generation will have voted for the old one in private.