Chris Van Hollen announces run for U.S. Senate majority leader, challenging Schumer

Business News and FinanceVIEW IN APPMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPoliticsSelectMake ItWorld PoliticsChris Van Hollen announces run for U.S. Senate majority leader, challenging SchumerPublished Thu, Nov 12 2026 9:59 PM ESTReutersWATCH LIVESen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., attends a news conference outside the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant Metro Station to announce "federal funding to support Prince George's County infrastructure and health needs," in Capitol Heights, Md., on Monday, July 24, 2023.Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesDemocratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Thursday he would run to be the Senate majority leader, prompting a challenge to Senator Chuck Schumer, following the midterm elections in which their party won a majority in the chamber.

Van Hollen, who represents Maryland, said that in the midterm elections, in which Democrats also secured a majority in the House of Representatives, voters called for "a change from the status quo that isn't working for working people."

"It's now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership," he added.

Schumer released a statement of his own on Thursday, saying he had the votes to continue serving as the Democratic leader in the Senate.