Van Hollen to challenge Schumer for Senate Democratic leader; Schumer says he has the votes to stay on

US Senator Chris Van Hollen said Thursday he would run for Senate majority leader, challenging Chuck Schumer, who has led the Democrats in the Senate since 2017. The announcement came after Democrats won a majority in the chamber in the midterm elections.

Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said voters, who also gave Democrats a majority in the House of Representatives, called for a change from the status quo, which he claims isn’t working for working people. “It’s now on us to meet this moment, and to do that we need new leadership,” he stated.

Van Hollen, 67, said in an interview that more than 10 of the 55 Democratic senators known to be voting supported him, but acknowledged he was the “underdog” against Schumer, 75. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, and Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said they would support Van Hollen.

Earlier this week, Sanders and Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan called for new leadership at a press conference.

Schumer is expected to retain his post and had previously predicted he would not face a challenger. In a statement Thursday, he said, “I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader. I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead.”

A few senators-elect have said they would not support him. The vote will be held by secret ballot behind closed doors next month.

Van Hollen has served nearly a decade in the Senate and spent 14 years in the House before that. The Maryland senator has said Democrats need to pursue several goals at once, including holding the Trump administration accountable for “gross corruption,” trying to end the US and Israeli war on Iran, and uniting behind an economic agenda aimed at working-class Americans.

Last week, Van Hollen said, “Midterms are a referendum on the party in power, but I also think this was a plea for a new kind of politics.”

On foreign policy, Van Hollen has been critical of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its military assault on Gaza, while advocating against deepening defense ties with the US ally.

Democrats will hold at least 55 Senate seats and Republicans 44. The Alaska race has not been called, with the Democratic candidate leading by 2.2% with 88% of the votes counted as of late Thursday.