Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in key races nationwide are reportedly distancing themselves from Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, according to the Washington Post.
This comes as the party's ratings have been experiencing a downward trend, reaching near-record lows in recent months.
From Maine to Texas, Democratic Senate hopefuls are expressing their dissatisfaction with Schumer, who has been in elected office since 1975. Several candidates have voiced their concerns to the Post, with all affirming that they would not back Schumer as the party's leader in the next Congress.
As reported by the Conservative Daily News, Graham Platner, a U.S. Senate candidate from Maine, alongside three of his Democratic primary opponents, pledged not to support Schumer for majority leader. Platner, an oyster farmer and rising star within the party's hard-left faction, criticized Schumer's electoral strategy.
"We are right now living in the outcome of a failed electoral strategy, that is why Democrats dont hold power, and much of that strategy was driven by Chuck Schumer, he said.
In Iowa, Democratic Senate candidate Nathan Sage was unequivocal in his opposition to Schumer's continued leadership. "Hell no. And hell no is the easy answer, he said. His primary opponent, Democratic Iowa State Sen. Zach Wahls, underscored the potential negative impact of being seen as Schumer's preferred candidate in a Republican-leaning state.
Being seen as the preferred candidate of Chuck Schumer in the state is going to make it pretty dang hard to win an election in this state [Iowa], Wahls said.
In Texas, Terry Virts, a retired astronaut and Democratic Senate candidate, echoed the call for new leadership. Chuck Schumer is not the leader our party or our country needs. He is not the man for the moment, he said in a campaign video.
Illinois Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, another Senate candidate, also expressed the need for "new leadership and new ideas" while criticizing Schumer's decision to keep the government open in March.
David Laska, communications director for the New York Republican Party, suggested that Democrats are recognizing the potential liability of their leader as the midterms approach. Chuck Schumer is the kind of politician that our founders warned us against. He is a career politician whos never added a dime of value to anybody in the private sector his entire life, Laska said.
He also accused Schumer of being "virtually afraid" of the far-left flank of his party, suggesting that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez could easily defeat him in a primary.
The Democratic Party's ratings hit a record low in March and continued to decline throughout the summer, marking the worst favorability ratings the party has seen in years. People are mad we lost the last election, people are frustrated with the partys response, Democratic strategist Mike Nellis said. Fairly or unfairly, the establishment is the least popular its been in my career two decades.
Republican strategist in New York, John McLaughlin, suggested that Schumer's base in the Empire State is moving to the suburbs and being replaced by a younger generation of Democrats seeking new leadership. Schumer is losing his base. His base in Brooklyn is leaving. Secular nonreligious voters are taking over the Democratic party, and they happen to be young and big government socialists, McLaughlin said.
Schumer has faced significant opposition from Ocasio Cortez and other Democrats over his reluctance to endorse Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor on June 24. The Democratic party in New York has moved really far left in this space. Mamdani is headed to be mayor in New York City, McLaughlin said. The big government socialists are the tail wagging the dog in the New York State Democratic Party.
Democratic Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow called for Schumer to step down as party leader in March, before she officially announced her bid for U.S. Senate. We need new leaders because the same people in D.C. who got us into this mess are not going to be the ones to get us out of it, McMorrow said in her campaign launch video in April.
Alex Nguyen, a spokesperson for Schumer, told Politico that the leaders North Star is winning the majority in 2026. Schumer did not immediately respond to the DCNFs request for comment. The growing dissatisfaction with Schumer's leadership among Democratic Senate candidates underscores the party's struggle to find a unified direction as it grapples with its declining popularity.
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