Schumer's growing primary headache

• Former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), who announced his Senate bid Wednesday, didn't commit to backing Schumer as leader in an interview with Axios.
• Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic state senator running for the chamber in Michigan, was more concrete last month: She said she wouldn't vote for Schumer if she were elected.
• Democratic donors and strategists told Axios they expect the question of Schumer's leadership to surface in a number of primaries this year.

What they're saying: Nickel isn't shying away from casting himself as an ally of the liberal grassroots movement that has been pushing Democratic leadership to be tougher on Trump, telling Axios: "Leaders in Washington just haven't addressed the urgency."

• Asked if he would vote for Schumer as leader, Nickel demurred. He praised the New York Democrat as an "absolutely fantastic leader" who has "done a very good job" running elections and legislating, but added that "hypotheticals about Schumer … just aren't my focus."
• "I think folks have every right to ask more from Democratic leadership: 'Be tougher.' This isn't a time to be sitting on the sidelines. Things are urgent, and I see that now that I'm back home in North Carolina a lot more than I did when I was in Washington," he said in an interview.

The bottom line: Schumer has experience with candidates who have questioned his leadership tenure.

• In 2018, Kyrsten Sinema — who was the party's top Senate recruit that year — announced she wouldn't vote for Schumer to be leader.
• And while there have been some frustrations with Schumer from his caucus, no serious talks about moving on from him as leader have materialized.