Schumer's Grip Slips as Socialists Storm the Democratic Party

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is facing new questions about his standing within his own caucus after a pair of setbacks this week involving Massachusetts and Michigan Democrats.

During a debate Monday night in Dedham, Massachusetts, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in the September 1 Democratic primary, said he would not support Schumer for Senate Democratic leader if elected. "The first vote that I take when I get to the United States Senate will be for not Senator Schumer, because we need new leadership at the top as well," Moulton said. Asked who should replace him, Moulton said only, "It should not be Chuck Schumer," declining to name a preferred successor.

Markey did not explicitly endorse Schumer for the leadership post either, saying "we need a big debate about new leadership in the Senate."

The debate came the same week Schumer's preferred candidate in Michigan's Senate primary, Haley Stevens, lost to Abdul El-Sayed, a democratic socialist endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

Schumer is not up for reelection until 2028, but Senate Democrats vote on their leadership every two years, meaning he must retain the confidence of his caucus regardless of his own election schedule. The Massachusetts primary between Markey and Moulton is scheduled for September 1.