Schumer's private plea to Senate Dems who are weighing retirement
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In private meetings with his in-cycle incumbents, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked for a small favor: If you're not going to run in 2026, please let me know soonest.
Why it matters: Two Democrats in potentially close races have now honored his request. A third — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) — has yet to make an announcement.
- Schumer craves clarity on the 2026 Senate map, according to people familiar with the matter.
- He also wants time to consider the party's options, allocate resources and develop a comprehensive strategy to eat into the GOP's three-seat majority.
Driving the news: Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) on Thursday morning became the second senator in as many months to announce her retirement, following Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) in January.
- Both decisions sent shockwaves throughout Washington.
The intrigue: That leaves Shaheen, 78, as the only open question for many senior Democrats.
- She has publicly questioned her future, and multiple sources tell us she hasn't privately indicated whether she plans to run.
- If Shaheen runs, Democrats like their chances of holding onto the seat.
- Should she retire, New Hampshire will be much more expensive for Democrats, drawing resources away from other competitive races.
Zoom out: In other potentially competitive races, there's not much uncertainty around the Democrats' remaining 2026 incumbents.
- Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) are sending strong signals they plan to run for reelection.
- While he's not an incumbent, there's great pessimism among senior Democratic sources that former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) won't try to return to the Senate in 2026.
Zoom in: Just as Peters' retirement opened the field in Michigan, several Democrats are indicating that they are interested in running in Minnesota, a state Vice President Harris won by 4 percentage points and Sen. Amy Klobuchar took by 16 points.
- Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic 2024 vice presidential candidate, is interested, according to Politico.
- There's also a possibility that former Sen. Al Franken, who was forced to resign during the height of the #metoo movement, could mount a comeback. He praised Smith on Thursday but didn't give any indication that he would run.
- Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) are also potential candidates, Axios reported earlier Thursday.
The bottom line: Retirements from proven winners are never welcomed, but they sting less when they are made early in an odd number year.
