Photo: WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 30: U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) enters the Public Citizen's Combating Corruption forum at the National Press Club on July 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. Schumer called for stronger anti-corruption measures in the U.S. government by proposing a new independent Anti-Corruption Bureau. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
Far-left candidates are cutting through establishment picks like a hot knife through butter in Democrat primary contests this year. That could be bad news for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Even if Democrats manage to retake the majority, Schumer may find himself in a heated battle for control of the caucus – and perhaps facing a tough primary challenge of his own two years from now.
The latest and perhaps biggest blow to Schumer & Co. came on Tuesday night in Michigan, where progressive upstart Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democrat Senate primary.
It is difficult to overstate how much of a disaster the contest was for the Democrat establishment and for Schumer personally. Schumer effectively endorsed Stevens and rallied his allies to sink nearly $65 million into her campaign. Stevens also had the endorsement of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and outgoing Democrat Senator Gary Peters.
El-Sayed won anyway, and if he wins in November (by no means a sure thing, but still plausible), Schumer will have another major detractor in the Senate. El-Sayed has made no effort to hide the fact that he’s not a fan of the 75-year-old New Yorker and would like to see new leadership atop the caucus.
“If you’re Chuck Schumer, I’m pretty damn dangerous,” El-Sayed declared during a campaign event late last month. On another occasion, El-Sayed promised that he would not vote for Schumer for leader and has indicated that he plans to back progressive Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Following El-Sayed’s victory, Schumer attempted to extend the olive branch and project unity ahead of the general election. “We are a big tent party,” Schumer told reporters when asked about the race. But that cordiality is unlikely to last if El-Sayed ever makes it to the Senate.
Schumer was already reeling even before the outcome in Michigan following the Graham Platner debacle in Maine. Again, Schumer had backed a more moderate candidate in the Democrat Senate primary – incumbent Governor Janet Mills – only to watch her drop out of the race early amid a surge from Platner, a self-avowed socialist with close ties to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Schumer’s failure was only magnified when Platner’s campaign crashed and burned amid a flood of scandals, including credible allegations of sexual assault. The new Democrat nominee, Troy Jackson, doesn’t have nearly the personal baggage that Platner brought with him. But his policy positions are just as radical, and he’s not a particularly skilled politician, meaning that Democrats still have an uphill battle to unseat Republican Susan Collins.
Worst of all for Schumer, Jackson has also stated that he won’t back him for leader.
El-Sayed and Jackson might not be Schumer’s only problems, either. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) has likewise said that Schumer should be booted from his role as leader. Moulton is challenging incumbent Senator Ed Markey in a Democrat primary scheduled for September 1.
It appears that bashing Schumer has become something of a litmus test for Democrat candidates looking to tout their progressive bona fides. That’s not good news for Schumer in a party where progressives have all the energy and momentum.
No matter what happens in November, Schumer’s days as leader might be numbered. If these progressive candidates win, Schumer will have to contend with vocal critics who ran on ousting him, and there may be more Senate Democrats who feel the same. El-Sayed, Jackson, and others would have won in spite of Schumer, not because of him, and they will owe no allegiance to him.
On the other hand, if these radical candidates cost Democrats the majority, Schumer’s colleagues will rightly view it as a major indictment on his leadership. Schumer failed to stop the insurgent challenges from unelectable far-left candidates. That alone is enough reason to look for someone new to lead the caucus.
The picture which emerges from this mess is one of a seriously weakened Schumer regardless of how things shake out on Election Day. And there’s another threat waiting in the wings – the queen of the “Squad” herself, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It’s an open secret in Washington that there is no love lost between Schumer and Ocasio-Cortez. Liberal circles have murmured for years that the 36-year-old bartender from the Bronx has the national profile and fundraising apparatus to challenge Schumer. While Schumer is hardly a moderate, Ocasio-Cortez has gone much further in embracing the socialist revision to “remake” America. There is no doubt that she would be a stronger and more forceful voice for progressive policies in the Senate.
2028 is setting up to be the perfect time for such a challenge from Ocasio-Cortez – if she decides against a run for president. Schumer is already by far the most unpopular of the “big four” leaders in Congress. His net favorability rating is -29, nearly twice as bad as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at -16 (House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are both at -14).
If Democrats fail to retake the Senate in 2026, the party will be looking for a scapegoat, and Schumer is the easy target. Progressives will blame him for not backing their candidates from the start, while moderates will blame him for not doing enough to check the rising power of the progressives. Schumer will suddenly be a leader without the trust of any faction within his party – a completely untenable position.
Chuck Schumer has spent most of his political career excusing Democrats’ leftward lurch by droning on and on about how the party is a “big tent.” As a result, he may soon find himself on the outside of it.
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