Far Left Eyes Primary Challenge to Schumer

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After their victories in Tuesday's Democratic primaries in New York City, the far left is coming for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The 75-year-old Schumer, first elected to the Senate in 1998, has been considered vulnerable to a challenge from the left over his support for Israel and not fighting President Donald Trump hard enough from his perch as minority leader.

Tuesday's primaries saw three progressive Democrats in New York City, all backed by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, win their primaries, toppling two incumbents in the process.

"The establishment, and no one's more establishment than Chuck, needs to take this as a wake-up call," said Matt Bennett, vice president of public affairs at Third Way, a centrist Democratic group, told Politico.  "No one is safe."

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Schumer framed the primary results as part of the momentum Democrats are building toward the 2026 midterm elections.

"We're seeing tremendous energy from all different areas of our party," Schumer said. "You're seeing centrist energy in Virginia, Iowa and New Jersey; progressive energy in New York City."

"We're going to harness it all to win in November, because all Democrats are united in the mission of taking back the Senate and defeating Trump," Schumer added.

The Democratic Socialists of America told Politico they do not have a candidate in mind to take on Schumer.

"We can take a number of different routes," said New York City DSA Co-Chair Gustavo Gordillo.

"When we first ran Zohran Mamdani's mayoral candidacy he was at 1% in the polls. Few people knew who he was outside of his district and our organization. I don't see why we can't do that for a Senate race," Gordillo added.

Others are skeptical the DSA could be able to win a statewide race, especially against Schumer.

"People are trying to extrapolate a victory from the DSA's self-proclaimed commie corridor is not being seen in Rochester or Albany," former New York City Councilmember David Greenfield told Politico.

Schumer's poll numbers have fallen in New York. A Siena University poll released last month had his approval rating at only 33%.

Although he was reelected in 2022 by double digits, it was by the smallest margin, his 57% of the vote was the lowest since his election in 1998.

"If I'm Chuck Schumer right now I'm quaking in my boots, as he should," said Amit Bagga, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to Gov. Kathy Hochul told Politico.

"This is a very clear signal that the politics of possibility that Mamdani and the left represent — as opposed to the strongly worded letters of the past — are what Democratic voters expect and demand from their leaders," Bagga added.

Sam Barron

Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.

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