Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) appears to be on his way out — whether by choice or by chance.
The decades-long leader of the Democratic Party continues to face an onslaught of criticism from fellow Democrats — including from voters in his home state.
According to a new survey conducted by Siena College, only 32% of New York state voters have a favorable view of the longtime lawmaker, marking a 21-year low.
To make matters worse, the poll indicated that a staggering 55% of respondents said they had an unfavorable view of Schumer.
Schumer was viewed negatively by virtually every demographic group solicited in the poll, including self-identified liberals, moderates, and conservatives.
Schumer, 74, has been a titan in New York politics for five decades, holding public office since the 1970s. He first entered politics as a state assemblyman, then as a Brooklyn congressman before being elected to the US Senate in 1998.
However, despite his stranglehold on the Empire State, Schumer’s plummeting popularity has been building for weeks, with many far-left Democrats calling on the longtime New York lawmaker to step down amid anger over not winning concessions from President Trump and Republicans to end the recent record-breaking government shutdown.
In addition to voters now souring on Schumer, Democratic Party leaders have been vocal in calling for Schumer to step aside.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) recently said.
The government funding deal “is another example of why we need new leadership. If Chuck Schumer were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote ‘No’ tonight and hold the line on healthcare,” said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who is running for Senate.
“The Democratic Party needs leaders who fight and deliver for working people. Schumer should step down,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, considered one of the 2028 Democratic presidential primary frontrunners, criticized the recent shutdown deal without naming Schumer directly.
The “Senate vote on the federal government shutdown should have been a time for strength. Instead we saw capitulation and a betrayal of working Americans,” Newsom said.
Schumer’s support has slowly collapsed throughout the party as more and more centrist Democratic senators avoiding directly backing Schumer when pressed by the media.
Senator Mark Kelly (D-A.Z.) recently deflected questions about confidence in Schumer’s leadership before acknowledging it had been a “rough” time for Senate Democrats.
“I’ve been here four and a half years now, and [Schumer has] been the leader, and I understand why people look at this and say, well, this was kind of a rough period,” Kelly said.
Also at the forefront of Schumer’s demise is fellow New York lawmaker, Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.N.Y.).
AOC has openly criticized Schumer, and it has been speculated that she is planning to challenge Schumer in the 2028 Democratic primary should he decide to seek reelection.
“I think what is so important for folks to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person, and it actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters last week.
“You had eight Senate Democrats who coordinated their own votes on this. A leader is a reflection of the party, and Senate Democrats have selected their leadership to represent them. And so the question needs to be bigger than just one person.”
Coincidently, the Sienna College survey noted that AOC is more popular than Schumer amongst New York voters, with a 42-37% favorability rating.