Newly elected Democratic senators from Kansas to Maine say they will not support Chuck Schumer as majority leader, even as their party prepares to take control of the Senate.

Several incoming Democratic senators have made clear they are not locked in behind Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York for the top job once Democrats claim the majority. Leadership elections are expected later this year, and Schumer will need a majority of his own caucus to keep the gavel.

Fox News reported that the holdouts include senators-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Troy Jackson of Maine, Julianna Stratton of Illinois, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota. Democrats already hold a reported 54 seats, with Mississippi and Alaska results still leaning their way as of Thursday.

Schumer has led Senate Democrats since 2017 as both majority and minority leader. He remains the favorite in many circles. Yet the newest members are openly shopping for alternatives.

Hamilton, a moderate megachurch pastor who toppled Republican Sen. Roger Marshall on Election Night, flipped Kansas for Democrats for the first time in nearly a century. He did not wait to voice his doubts.

Hamilton brands Schumer a liability in Kansas

In September, Hamilton told CNN he wanted fresh faces at the top.

"I mean no disrespect for Chuck Schumer, but we need new leadership."

He went further.

"We need new younger leadership, young blood."

Hamilton tied the problem directly to his home state and to the gridlock voters see every day.

"In Kansas, Chuck Schumer is a liability for Democrats, and we've got to have leaders that can unite us, bring us together, not just Democrats, but bring together Democrats and Republicans to solve real problems."

He added that people are frustrated because the parties are not working together to solve problems. Those lines landed while Hamilton was still a candidate. They have not softened since he won.

Jackson delivered a similar message just before Election Day. The former Maine state senator told reporters he had already informed Schumer of his stance.

"I told Schumer that I’m going to, you know, support somebody else."

Then he closed the door on any change of heart.

"So it’s no different now."

Stratton, El-Sayed, and Flanagan are also listed among the newcomers who are not all in for Schumer. Progressives in that group have floated Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland as one possible alternative.

Van Hollen draws progressive interest while weighing 2028

A Democratic aide familiar with Van Hollen’s thinking told Fox News Digital the caucus needs a hard look at its direction.

"the caucus needs to have an honest and open conversation about how we move an agenda forward that reflects the will of the American people."

The same aide said Van Hollen has pressed the new majority to act.

"He’s made it clear that the new Democratic majorities need to use their power to push a proactive, economic agenda."

Van Hollen himself has said he is “kicking the tires” on a 2028 run. He has not declared a leadership bid, but the mere mention of his name shows the opening that exists.

Schumer answered the criticism on Wednesday. He told reporters the complaints about the party’s recent direction are not personal.

"The issue is not me."

He projected confidence about the coming vote and tried to pivot the conversation outward.

"I'll be re-elected as majority leader, but the issue is focusing on the American people and what they want."

That assurance tracks with earlier comments in which Schumer vowed to keep leading Senate Democrats no matter the electoral map. The newest members are testing whether that vow still holds inside the caucus.

Shutdown deal and funding votes lit the fuse

The resistance did not appear overnight. Progressive anger at Schumer has been building for months. He became a target in those circles after helping Senate Republicans clear a filibuster on a government funding bill in March, National Review reported. Resentment then exploded when a handful of Democrats signed onto a bipartisan compromise that ended the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.

Five Democrats, Sens. Dick Durbin, Tim Kaine, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, and Jacky Rosen, defected to advance the Republican-offered deal. It contained no concessions on expiring Obamacare subsidies. The vote landed after strong Democratic election results and triggered an immediate meltdown across the party.

Rep. Ro Khanna said Schumer “is no longer effective and should be replaced.” Rep. Seth Moulton argued that an effective leader would have united the caucus to vote no that night. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and other Democrats and candidates piled on, the New York Post reported. Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow wrote that the deal was bad and “the old way of doing things is clearly not working,” adding, “We need new leaders.”

That earlier retreat also fits a pattern in which Schumer folded on a shutdown threat and handed Republicans a clean political win. Incoming senators now cite the same frustration with gridlock and weak bargaining that voters already saw play out in public.

Caucus discipline cracks as power arrives

Schumer needs only a majority of Senate Democrats to stay in charge. On paper that should be manageable with a 54-seat edge. In practice, the open refusals from Hamilton, Jackson, and others mean the vote will test how much loyalty the longtime leader still commands.

Democratic Party discipline has often been tighter than the approach taken across the aisle, yet the current revolt shows the limits of that control when internal party discipline collides with progressive demands and moderate electoral realities at the same time.

Similar fractures have already appeared elsewhere in the caucus. Sen. John Fetterman’s willingness to break with party orthodoxy has left some Democrats unsure where their own members will land on tough votes, a tension visible when Fetterman declined to lock in as a reliable 51st vote. The Schumer fight is the leadership version of the same problem.

Hamilton’s Kansas win and Jackson’s blunt warning both point to the same demand: new faces and less gridlock. Whether that produces an actual leadership challenge or simply a noisy protest remains unsettled. The caucus still has months before it votes. Mississippi and Alaska could still add seats. Van Hollen has not jumped in. Schumer continues to insist the issue is not him.

What is already plain is that a party preparing to run the Senate cannot agree on who should run the party. Taxpayers who just watched a record shutdown and years of stalled bills are entitled to wonder how that internal fight will produce better results.

Power is arriving. Unity is not.