‘Rising Democratic star’ Mallory McMorrow says Senate minority leader doesn’t know when to step down
Michigan state legislator Mallory McMorrow (D.), who is preparing to launch a Senate campaign in the battleground state, blasted Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and called for him to step down.
“I don’t think it is” clear that Schumer knows when to step aside, McMorrow told Politico, saying that the minority leader needs to go because “the same approach is not going to work.”
McMorrow, whom Politico called a “rising Democratic star,” said that, if elected, she will not vote for Schumer as leader. “I would look for other leadership who understands that it’s a different moment,” she said, praising former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who stepped down from a leadership position in 2023.
Schumer has incurred widespread criticism from Democrats after he voted with Republicans to advance a bill to avert a government shutdown. At least two House Democrats are openly calling for his ouster, with a third Democrat telling Axios last week that other members of the caucus would join them but “just haven’t been asked directly or avoided the question.”
Behind the scenes, even some centrist Democrats are “so mad” at Schumer’s vote that they are “ready to write checks” for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) to mount a primary challenge against him, CNN reported.
McMorrow’s comments come as she gears up for a run to replace Sen. Gary Peters, one of several longtime Democratic senators to announce retirement. Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg considered entering the race but decided to concentrate on a 2028 presidential bid instead. On the Republican side, former congressman Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate race, is expected to announce another run.
While Republicans lost the last three Senate races in Michigan, the gap has narrowed from 6.5 points in 2018 to only 0.3 points in 2024. On the presidential level, Donald Trump flipped the battleground state in 2024.