Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is so loathed inside Washington, D.C., he can’t even count the Democrats who live down the street from him as political allies.
During a Monday night debate, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and Democratic primary challenger Brad Lander were asked whether they would support their 75-year-old Senate Minority Leader and Brooklyn neighbor if he runs for re-election in 2028.
Lander didn’t hesitate and went on the attack.
“I think it’s time for new leadership in the Democratic Party,” Lander said. “That’s why I’m running in this race.”
Goldman, seeking a third term in Congress, refused to endorse Schumer’s leadership.
“I have not thought about it,” Goldman said. “I have no idea whether he’s going to run or not.”
The moment captured something that has been building inside the Democratic Party for months: Schumer, once one of the most powerful men in Washington, is increasingly being abandoned by his allies and the list of Democrats willing to publicly stand against him keeps growing.
According to The Washington Times, Democratic Senate candidates in 13 states are explicitly running on a platform of ousting Schumer from his leadership post.
The rebellion has reached inside the Senate chamber itself. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told socialist activists that Senate Democrats had been quietly talking about removing Schumer from his post after the midterms
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey told Fox News directly earlier this year that “it’s time for new leadership” in the Democratic Party and that a younger lawmakers need to “step up the stage.”
Elsewhere, Schumer’s influence is waning. In Maine, Schumer’s handpicked Senate candidate — two-term Gov. Janet Mills — dropped out of the primary after being crushed in polling by progressive insurgent Graham Platner.
Political analyst David Axelrod put it plainly: Schumer is done.
“There are questions as to whether he’ll run in 2028,” he said. “There are even questions as to whether he might be challenged as leader. I think the results of this election may impact that.”