Chris Van Hollen to challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader

Chris Van Hollen on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on 12 May. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenChris Van Hollen on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on 12 May. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty ImagesChris Van Hollen to challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leaderMaryland Democrat challenges party leader after midterms sweep, saying: ‘The American people called for change’

Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic senator of Maryland, announced on Thursday that he is challenging Chuck Schumer for the role of Senate majority leader when Democrats regain the chamber’s majority in January.

“In this election, the American people called for change. They called for a change from Donald Trump’s disastrous policies – but even bigger than that, a change from the status quo that isn’t working for working people,” Van Hollen said in a statement posted on social media.

“It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership. This is not about any one person – it’s about answering the call of the American people. That is why I’m running for Senate Majority Leader.”

Schumer, the leader of the Democratic minority in the current Senate, responded less than a minute later in a social media post of his own. “I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead,” Schumer wrote. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together – 55 seats and counting is an amazing result – and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader. I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people.”

The battle pits a progressive Democrat, Van Hollen, against a centrist, Schumer.

Van Hollen’s challenge comes after he said he was considering a bid and after Schumer said he had the necessary support to win. The closed-door, secret-ballot election will be held in early December.

The race will be the first contested election for Democratic leader in decades. The question of whether to re-elect Schumer has already divided the caucus and many senators will not say publicly how they will vote. They have privately deliberated about what message to take from the election, and Schumer recruited many of the party’s winning candidates and raised money for them. But some of the winning candidates, most notably Michigan’s senator-elect, Abdul El-Sayed, did not initially have Schumer’s support.

Schumer has been talking to Democratic senators since the election about forming an agenda for 2027.

“I’m going to win it,” Schumer told the Associated Press in an interview last week.