Democrats are still basking in their midterm wins, but the party's victory lap is about to hit a wall. For years, the establishment fed and flattered its radical wing, assuming it could always keep the activists on a leash. Now the DSA insurgency that party leaders quietly dreaded has arrived in the Senate, and it isn't taking orders from anybody.
The Democrats won majorities with these radical candidates, and these newcomers represent the base, which means they'll drag the establishment even further left than it already is, which is hard to believe is even possible. The establishment may be happy about winning the majority, but this new class is bound to cause them some real headaches, and the first one has Chuck Schumer's name on it.
Several newly elected Democrat senators refuse to commit to backing Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for majority leader now that their party controls the chamber. Schumer has run the caucus, in the majority or the minority, since 2017. He's still the favorite to hold on to the job, but plenty of the incoming class have no love for him, and some promised on the campaign trail never to support him at all.
Take Adam Hamilton, the megachurch pastor who ousted Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Election Night and handed Democrats their first Kansas Senate seat in nearly a century. Hamilton built his campaign around the idea that his party needed "fresh ideas and fresh leadership."
"I mean no disrespect for Chuck Schumer, but we need new leadership," Hamilton told CNN in September. "We need new younger leadership, young blood."
I think we all know what that really means.
"In Kansas, Chuck Schumer is a liability for Democrats, and we've got to have leaders that can unite us, bring us together, not just Democrats, but bring together Democrats and Republicans to solve real problems," Hamilton continued. He also griped that voters are sick of gridlock and leaders who refuse to work together. Hamilton is kidding himself if he thinks that any other leader would be more bipartisan.
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And the thing is, Hamilton has plenty of company. Senators-elect Troy Jackson of Maine, Julianna Stratton of Illinois, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota have all kept their distance from Schumer. Jackson made his position clear to reporters just before Election Day.
"I told Schumer that I'm going to, you know, support somebody else," Jackson said. "So it's no different now."
So who's the somebody else? DSA-backed members like El-Sayed have floated Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has also admitted he's "kicking the tires" on a 2028 presidential bid. A Democrat aide familiar with Van Hollen's thinking told Fox News Digital that the senator believes "the caucus needs to have an honest and open conversation about how we move an agenda forward that reflects the will of the American people" before it picks a new leader.
"He's made it clear that the new Democratic majorities need to use their power to push a proactive, economic agenda," the aide added.
Schumer, naturally, insists everything is fine. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he brushed off the idea that voters' frustration with the party had anything to do with him.
"The issue is not me," Schumer claimed. "I'll be re-elected as majority leader, but the issue is focusing on the American people and what they want."
I suspect he might even be right about keeping the job. Democrats will hold their leadership elections later this year, and Schumer only needs a majority of his caucus. But the far left of the party will flex its muscles any way it can. Schumer may well survive the leadership vote, just don't mistake that for unity.
