More than a quarter of next year’s Senate Democrats have endorsed Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) or indicated he has their vote for majority leader, according to a Washington Examiner tally that puts him well ahead of his challenger, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
To date, 15 caucus members have publicly backed Schumer in the first contested election since he became Democratic leader in 2016, compared to four for Van Hollen, who entered the race Thursday at the encouragement of progressives who see Schumer’s pragmatic style of politics as a poor fit for the Trump era.
Several incoming freshmen vowed on the campaign trail to oppose Schumer and can reasonably be bucketed in the Van Hollen column as well.
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The whip count is an incomplete look at where support for each Democrat stands ahead of internal leadership elections slated for Dec. 1. There will be 55 to 56 Senate Democrats in the new Congress, and many have yet to take sides or want to stay publicly neutral. Schumer will likely need 29.
The list does reveal some of the ideological and generational divides within the party, though, as Democrats prepare to take over the majority in January.
Schumer’s endorsement list is relatively diverse but skews more toward the center. Van Hollen tends to attract progressive Democrats or younger colleagues who argue for a more combative approach to the Trump presidency. The biggest argument for Schumer’s election is his experience and role in flipping at least eight Senate seats this cycle.
In launching his leadership bid on Thursday, Van Hollen acknowledged that he’s the “underdog” against Schumer but said that more than 10 colleagues had so far committed to supporting him.
Schumer swiftly responded with a statement announcing he already has the votes and will be the majority leader in the new Congress.
Below is a breakdown of where all members of the incoming Democratic caucus stand on the leadership election, based on statements or interviews with the Capitol Hill press corps. The list will be updated as new responses become available.
For Van Hollen
Abdul el Sayed (freshman)
Peggy Flanagan (freshman)
Jeff Merkley
Bernie Sanders
Chris Van Hollen
Against Schumer
Annie Andrews (freshman)
Adam Hamilton (freshman)
Troy Jackson (freshman)
Elissa Slotkin
Juliana Stratton (freshman)
Backing Schumer
Angela Alsobrooks
Tammy Baldwin
Richard Blumenthal
Sherrod Brown (returning)
Catherine Cortez Masto
John Fetterman
Ruben Gallego
Kirsten Gillibrand
Tim Kaine
Mark Kelly
Angus King
Jack Reed
Jacky Rosen
Brian Schatz
Chuck Schumer
Sheldon Whitehouse
Unknown or noncommittal
Michael Bennet
Lisa Blunt Rochester
Cory Booker
Maria Cantwell
Scott Colom (freshman)
Chris Coons
Roy Cooper (freshman)
Tammy Duckworth
Maggie Hassan
Martin Heinrich
John Hickenlooper
Mazie Hirono
Andy Kim
Amy Klobuchar
Ben Ray Luján
Ed Markey
Chris Murphy
Patty Murray
Jon Ossoff
Alex Padilla
Chris Pappas (freshman)
Adam Schiff
James Talarico (freshman)
Josh Turek (freshman)
Mark Warner
Raphael Warnock
Elizabeth Warren
Peter Welch
Ron Wyden