Van Hollen: Senators who pledged to support Schumer will switch vote

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said that several senators whom Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) team claimed would vote for him have privately pledged to back Van Hollen instead for majority leader.

The Hill reported on Saturday that Schumer’s allies expect him to win more than 40 votes in the race for Senate majority leader and believe the Maryland Democrat is using his challenge to push for concessions on progressive priorities, including “Medicare for All” and eliminating the filibuster.

“Schumer’s team put out a list just the other day of people they said who are voting for Senator Schumer,” Van Hollen said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “I can tell you that a number of those people on that list have actually committed to voting for me, and the others are very open to the idea of change.”

Van Hollen, who is challenging Schumer to lead Senate Democrats when the party takes control of the chamber in January, did not identify which senators had privately pledged their support or specify how many votes he had secured.

He insisted that he had a path to victory, arguing that Democratic senators are increasingly open to replacing their longtime leader and earn the trust of voters.

“There’s a hunger for change within the Senate Democratic Caucus,” Van Hollen said.

But he insisted he had a path to victory, arguing that Democratic senators are increasingly open to replacing their longtime leader.

“There is a hunger for change within the Senate Democratic Caucus,” Van Hollen said.

He framed his challenge as a response to voters’ demands for change following the midterm elections, arguing that Democrats should not return to business as usual.

“This really is a response to the call of voters, who clearly rejected [President] Donald Trump and his awful policies. But they haven’t fully hired Democrats,” he said.

He outlined several differences with Schumer, including his belief that Democratic leaders should stay out of contested party primaries.

Van Hollen accused Schumer of working with AIPAC and cryptocurrency interests to defeat two candidates who ultimately won their races.

As of Sunday, Van Hollen has secured public endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Sens.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) and Peggy Flanagan (D-Minn.).

Schumer, meanwhile, has received public backing from more than a dozen senators, including incoming Democratic Whip Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).