Van Hollen Challenges Schumer for Senate Majority Leader

Sanders endorsed Van Hollen on Thursday, saying in a social media post that voters “want a Democratic Party that will stand up to powerful special interests, take on the billionaire class and fight for working families.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D, Mich.) said at the same Tuesday press conference that she would not back Schumer. She did not endorse Van Hollen, but she said they had a “really productive conversation” earlier in the week. She called for anyone seeking to lead the Senate to put out a plan for what they would do in its first 100 days.

“You can’t lead people if you can’t lay out where you’re going, and it may be one thing when you’re in the minority, but it’s very different when it’s now your responsibility to deliver,” she said. “Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitely different.”

Several incoming Democratic senators also called for new leadership, including Troy Jackson of Maine, Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Juliana Stratton of Illinois, and Annie Andrews of South Carolina.