Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced Thursday that he will challenge Senator Chuck Schumer of New York for majority leader, setting up a leadership fight among Democrats as the party prepares to take control of Congress in January.
Van Hollen, a progressive Democrat elected to the Senate in 2016 after seven terms in the House representing the Washington, D.C., suburbs, has emerged as a favorite of Democrats seeking an alternative to Schumer. Schumer, a moderate whom critics regard as too tied to the party establishment, has said he has the votes to win the post.
The challenge comes as some Democratic senators and activists have called for new leadership in response to sweeping midterm election victories. Van Hollen's move lands just as Democrats were celebrating their new majority and planning for a takeover of Congress in January.
Groups including MoveOn, Indivisible and the Working Families Party have not yet taken a position on Van Hollen's bid, nor have they announced backing for him or said whether they would support primary challenges to senators who do not support it.
The contest now puts the question of who leads Senate Democrats before the caucus ahead of the new session.
