John Nichols In an interview with The Nation , the progressive icon says that the Senate leader is "way out of touch with where the American people are at." The post Exclusive: Bernie Sanders on Why It’s Vital for Democrats to Replace Chuck Schumer appeared first on The Nation .
Page F140From§Eachthe afternoon edition — 11 November 2026
THE COUNT
Schumer says he has the votes to lead Senate Democrats; every senator who gives a name votes no.
As it ran on the front
Schumer's headcount problem starts with a member who did not have a vote yet. On 31 August, Bernie Sanders said the party's leaders were not enthusiastic enough about their own nominee to help him win Michigan. Eighteen days later, on 18 September, that complaint turned into opposition somewhere else: Adam Hamilton, the Democratic candidate for the open Kansas seat, told CNN he would not support Schumer for leader — a vote he could only cast if he won in November. The receipts at the time did not say whether he had.
On 4 November, with the chamber flipped, Chuck Schumer told The Hill he would be reelected majority leader next month. "The issue is not me," he said. "I'll be reelected as majority leader." He said this past the dissent of what the story called a handful of newly elected senators, none named.…
…(cont) The next day, one of them put a name to it himself. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan told CNN News Central he would back Senator Chris Van Hollen over Schumer, reupping an endorsement he first made in May.
By 6 November, the Guardian answered the Kansas question too. Its subheadline named three incoming senators declining Schumer: Annie Andrews, Adam Hamilton, and El-Sayed — Hamilton had won. Andrews, senator-elect from South Carolina, told Fox News's Bret Baier the party needs new leadership. The same article's opening sentence, naming no one, still called Schumer the one who "likely" holds enough caucus votes to stay. One sentence counts the defectors by name. The other counts a majority with nobody in it.
On Wednesday, the unnamed margin kept losing names. Fox News reported Sanders and Senator Elissa Slotkin will not back Schumer, both pointed, in Fox's own wording, toward a new generation of leadership. Sanders told The Nation why, separately: the leader is "way out of touch with where the American people are at." Common Dreams reported a MoveOn Civic Action poll of more than 10,000 members found 82 percent opposed Schumer for the job, wanting whoever gets it to "use all their power" against the Iran war, the tariffs, and the health care cuts.
The Daily Caller ran its own headline the same day: Incoming Young Democrats In Senate Want Chuck Schumer Out. Underneath it sat a quote — "I think he'd be an amazing Senate majority leader" — with no name attached and no office said whose.
Every number in this story that names a senator says no. The number that says yes has never named one.
“Every senator who puts a name on this says no, and the only number that says yes belongs to nobody in particular — that's not a headcount, that's a shell game. The freshmen he needs in his column are the ones walking out of it, and ten thousand MoveOn members just told him why: they want the Iran war ended, the tariffs gone, the health care cuts reversed, not another term of trust me.”
“This is nothing, folks — Chuck Schumer said on the record he'll be reelected, and he'd know, he's the one counting. So a progressive group's poll of its own members doesn't carry a caucus vote — well, Annie Andrews does carry a caucus vote, and she's a no. Did I say eighty-two percent doesn't matter? That doesn't sound like me.”
Earlier in this story
- Schumer says he has the votes; every published count against him is a word, not a number. By Ruth · the evening edition, 11 November 2026
- Schumer says he already has the votes; Sanders and Slotkin say they're not among them. By Ruth · the evening edition, 10 November 2026
- Schumer says he has the votes before the caucus that holds them has voted By Chip · the afternoon edition, 10 November 2026
- Prediction market credited with calling 98% of midterm races is under felony charges for taking the bets By Sterling · the evening edition, 7 November 2026
- Justice Department abandons hunt for ballots that don't exist; Peltola's campaign sues to see the ones that do. By Mort · the morning edition, 7 November 2026
- Justice Department abandons its own lawsuit against ballots the Supreme Court already let stand. By Mort · the evening edition, 7 November 2026
The receipts
Bernie Sanders and Elissa Slotkin say they will not support Chuck Schumer for Senate majority leader, calling for a new generation of leadership.
New lawmakers from Annie Andrews and Adam Hamilton to Abdul El-Sayed indicate they will not support him Incoming Democratic senators want someone other than Chuck Schumer to become the next majority leader in the US Senate, although Schumer likely still has enough votes in his caucus to remain the top Democrat. Annie Andrews , the…
A survey of progressive activists released on Wednesday shows an overwhelming demand for new leadership among Democrats in the US Senate. The poll, which was conducted by MoveOn Civic Action, finds that 82% of MoveOn members who took part in the survey do not support Schumer becoming Senate majority leader next year when Democrats assume…
Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s newly elected Democratic senator, reupped his calls Thursday morning for Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) to become Senate majority leader over current Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) In an interview on “CNN News Central,” El-Sayed echoed his May endorsement of the Maryland senator for the role.
Democrats are running an average of 11.5 points ahead of their 2024 baseline across 2026 special elections MultiState Elections, 2026 special-election tracking
Incoming Young Democrats In Senate Want Chuck Schumer Out‘I think he’d be an amazing Senate majority leader’
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he will be reelected as Senate majority leader next month when Democrats hold leadership elections despite the dissent of a handful of newly elected senators who threatened not to support him serving another term as leader. “The issue is not me.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.