Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would face one of his party’s biggest rising stars in a primary for the ages next year, if one California Democrat has anything to say about it.
Ro Khanna, a member of the party’s progressive wing, indicated to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that he’d like to see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez face Schumer in a primary election for his Senate seat next year after the Senate Democratic leader and nine other members of his caucus backed down from a fight over legislation to keep the federal government funded through 2025.
“There were a lot of people at the Democratic [House] retreat who encouraged her [to run],” Khanna told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
Schumer and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, were pushing for the passage of a short-term “clean CR” that would have kept the government funded at current levels, and also wanted assurances that Elon Musk’s DOGE effort would not be able to touch congressionally-approved spending.
They got neither, and instead the Senate leader voted to break a filibuster on the Republican-sponsored bill that included non-defense cuts rather than risk a government shutdown.
Khanna did not directly say that he was among those who’d support Ocasio-Cortez running, but alluded to as much: “When a company isn’t doing well you don’t keep the same team.”
He added that he had not spoken to the New York congresswoman directly at the retreat, which took place earlier in March in Leesburg, Virginia. But, said there was ‘a lot’ of support for her.
.@RoKhanna tells @DanaBashCNN that "there would be a lot of support" for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez if she decides to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Chuck Schumer. pic.twitter.com/7Ykm2yROhX
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 23, 2025
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has been on the road with Ocasio-Cortez rallying Democrats in states across the country, was similarly cagey on Sunday and nearly walked out of an interview with ABC’s Jon Karl after being asked about the potential matchup.
Sanders, a longtime member of the Democratic caucus, is close to Schumer despite being on the party’s left flank.
A poll released after Schumer’s decision to break the filibuster — despite his own triumphant declaration that Republicans did not have the votes to pass their bill — showed the New York senator plummeting in popularity. Roughly six in ten voters now have an unfavorable view of him, as the Democratic base increasingly sours on his leadership of the caucus and allies in the House and Senate alike have publicly criticized his strategy.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Schumer vowed to remain in control of the Senate caucus. His conversation with Kristen Welker was the latest stop in a media tour the senator embarked on after his vote to defend breaking his own party’s filibuster as well as his continued leadership, which he has justified by claiming to be the best at winning seats for his party. Democrats lost the Senate majority and three seats in the November elections.
He stoked the anger against him even further when asked about his strategy for stopping what he and other Democrats have called a full-blown constitutional crisis in a conversation with The New York Times. The senator told the Times that Democrats could do little until the party was able to successfully drive down the president’s approval rating, at which point he hoped GOP senators would work with his party to keep Trump in check — as they had done under the prior Trump administration.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” reiterated the Democratic leader on Sunday, adding that he thought the risk of shutting down the government while DOGE was slashing federal agencies was too great.
“Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,” he said. “And I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was. People disagree.”
Ocasio-Cortez has not said publicly whether she plans to run for Senate in 2026, but in 2023 ruled out running for Senate the following year while leaving her future options wide open. At the time, New York’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, was up for reelection.
Bernie Sanders threatens to ditch interview when asked if AOC should run for Senate
Former Speaker says Trump has ‘broken the Democratic party’
Chuck Schumer responds to growing anger after he agreed to Republican spending bills
Fatal shooting in New Mexico park casts pall over Legislature and its ability to contain crime
White House reportedly seeking corporate sponsor for annual Easter Egg Roll
Trump professes love for his own meme coin ‘$Trump’: Live updates
