Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced that he would challenge Chuck Schumer for leadership of the party’s U.S. Senate caucus. It is the first contested election for the post since 1994; Schumer has led the caucus since 2017 and has previously been re-elected without opposition.

The caucus is due to vote behind closed doors in early December. Schumer said he was confident he had sufficient support to remain leader, while Senator Bernie Sanders and newly elected Democrat Abdul El-Sayed said they would not support him. Van Hollen said his candidacy was a response to calls for change rather than being about Schumer personally.