Advocacy Updated Nov 5, 2026
Democrats won the Senate majority in the Nov 3, 2026 election (Fox News, Nov 4). The caucus picks its leader in a closed-door secret ballot, expected soon after the election, with no official date confirmed (AP via PBS, Oct 2026). We believe Senate Democrats should choose new leadership, and that the vote should be a real choice, not a coronation.
Straight talk: Schumer is the heavy favorite, and he says he will win. We lay out the counter-record below, including votes where he sided with the left. Read the honest version.
Illustration, not an official document
Senate Democratic leader
Mark one. Secret ballot.
Majority of the caucus decides. Closed-door vote.
Do these in order About 5 minutes
“Replace Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader” is a Change.org petition started Nov 4, 2026 by Laura Ciocia and addressed to the Senate Democratic Caucus. It asks every Democratic senator to choose “a leader who will fight for real progressive values” and that the vote “be a real choice, not a coronation.” It is a user-created petition, not an organization’s. Tens of thousands of signers as of Nov 5, 2026.
Sign the petition (opens Change.org in a new tab)
Source: Change.org petition page. Note: the petition’s summary refers to a “2025 vote for a Republican spending bill.” The accurate record is that he voted yes on cloture and no on passage (details).
A signature is easy to scroll past; a call from a constituent is harder for an office to ignore. It takes about 30 seconds.
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Enter your zip code there to get your representatives’ numbers. That 5 Calls page is a generic constituent-services script, so use the script below instead of theirs.
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House members do not vote on Senate leadership. For them, the ask is to publicly urge Senate Democrats. For your senators, it is a direct ask: use your vote. Pick one, or read both below.
These boxes only fill in the script on your screen. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Voicemail? One sentence is plenty: “Hi, I’m [your name] from [your zip]. Congratulations on your win. Please back new Senate Democratic leadership chosen in a real vote, not a coronation. Thank you.”
Tip: say “a real vote, not a coronation.” It is polite, short and hard to argue with. Be kind to the staffer who logs your call. No insults, no threats.
The case Facts labelled, opinion labelled
Our view The party just won. The people who run it for the next two years should be picked on purpose, after a real contest and real debate, by the senators who will live with the result. Nothing below asks you to believe he is a villain. It asks whether this record, this money map and these numbers are what the caucus wants to carry into 2028.
A mixed record, and we show all of it. Critics point to the March 2025 funding fight, the November 2025 shutdown deal, and his votes against Sanders resolutions on Israel arms sales. His defenders point to his votes against the 2018 Dodd-Frank rollback and the GENIUS Act.
In the 2022 cycle, his campaign committee reported $37.9 million in receipts. Separately, Senate Majority PAC, a legally independent super PAC widely described as aligned with him, reported $389,968,278 in the 2024 cycle. Those are different pots, and we label them.
An NBC News poll found 13% of voters view him positively and 53% negatively. In Gallup’s December 2025 poll, Democrats’ approval of his job was 39%, down from 76% two years earlier.
Caveats we owe you Disapproving of a leader is not the same as wanting him replaced; many disapprovers are angry that he did not fight harder. We do not claim most Democrats want him out. And AP reported in October 2026 that allies say his standing has recovered since spring 2025. AP via PBS
On the record Exact words, dates, links
Quoted in full where it matters, and attributed. A quote appearing here does not mean the speaker backs this site.
“It’s time for Senate Democrats to choose new leadership.”
“Indivisible is calling for Chuck Schumer to step down from Senate Democratic leadership.” “Senator Schumer should step aside as leader.”
“I told Senator Schumer that I’m going to support somebody else… It’s no different now.”
“…we need a progressive champion to lead Senate Democrats and that’s not Chuck Schumer.”
“Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced.”
“Schumer should step down.”
“If Chuck Schumer were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote ‘No’ tonight.”
“What the f*** are you doing?! Chuck Schumer is a human flat tire.”
Fox News, Nov 4, 2026 reported that five newly elected Democratic senators have publicly said they will oppose Schumer: Hamilton (Kansas), Stratton (Illinois), Jackson (Maine), Flanagan (Minnesota) and El-Sayed (Michigan). Fox gave no direct quotes. Per The Lever, only Troy Jackson’s statement is a direct first-person refusal; Flanagan’s comes from her spokesperson. As of Nov 5, 2026, and dependent on all races being called. Fox News
“I know everyone’s beating up on Chuck, and I strongly disagree with him. Strongly.” “No one is in the caucus more critical of Schumer than I am.” “But it’s not Schumer, it’s the caucus. It’s not the caucus, it’s the Democratic Party.”
“Schumer delivering a Democratic Senate certainly justifies another term as leader.”
“I’ll be re-elected as majority leader.” “The issue is not me.”
FEC data Retrieved Nov 5, 2026
Campaign money, super PAC money and employee donations are different things. Every figure below says who gave, to what and which cycle. We make no claim that any donation influenced any vote; we show the records and let you judge. The 2026 cycle is incomplete.
The FEC API links open raw data and may need an API key; the committee page is the friendlier route. Figures were retrieved on Nov 5, 2026 and may have been updated since.
Roll calls Mixed record, both directions
A cloture vote is not a passage vote. A motion to discharge is not a passage vote. “Present” is not “no.” We name each one, and we include the votes that cut against our argument.
Schumer voted yes on cloture to advance the Republican full-year funding bill (62-38). Minutes later he voted no on passage (54-46). Ten members of the Democratic caucus voted for cloture; only two (Shaheen, King) voted for passage.
His explanation: he said allowing a shutdown would give Trump more power. Congressional Record
Eight members of the Democratic caucus (Durbin, Shaheen, Hassan, Kaine, Rosen, Cortez Masto, Fetterman, King) voted with Republicans to advance and pass a bill ending the 40-day shutdown without extending ACA subsidies. Schumer voted no.
Honest context: he voted against the deal. The critics’ argument is about leadership, that his caucus split. Rep. Khanna’s version: “This deal would never have happened if he had not blessed it” (opinion, attributed). PBS Al Jazeera
Schumer and six other Democrats (Gillibrand, Rosen, Cortez Masto, Blumenthal, Fetterman, Coons) voted against both Sanders resolutions to block Israel arms sales. On bulldozers, 40 Democrats voted yes; on bombs, 36.
Both motions failed; Republicans were unanimously opposed; he has been publicly critical of the Gaza war. Our concern here is U.S. arms-transfer policy. Jewish Insider
A Sanders resolution to block rifle sales to Israel failed 27-70, and one on bombs failed 24-73. Schumer voted against the rifle resolution.
We do not assert his bombs vote without a roll call. JTA (tallies) AP via WCAX (“he voted against the resolution”)
Schumer voted against the Sanders motion to discharge S.J.Res.113 on Israel arms sales; it failed 19-78.
Schumer voted for the Iraq War authorization, which passed 77-23; 29 of 50 Democrats voted yes, including Clinton.
A bipartisan vote; most Democratic leaders voted yes. We make no claim about his later position. Wikipedia Voteview (tally)
Schumer voted for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act conference report (90-8), which repealed parts of the Glass-Steagall Act. The New York Sun quotes him calling it “a historic moment” for New York’s financial industry.
President Clinton signed it. Whether it caused the 2008 crisis is disputed, and we do not say it did. Wikipedia (the 8 nays) NY Sun
Schumer was one of four Senate Democrats (with Cardin, Manchin, Menendez) who voted for cloture on the resolution to disapprove the Iran nuclear deal. Cloture failed 58-42 and the deal stood.
He announced his opposition on Aug 6, 2015. This was a policy disagreement over a Democratic president’s deal, not a progressive-versus-centrist test on its own. Congressional Record
Schumer voted yes on passage of the FISA Section 702 reauthorization (60-34), and no on every amendment offered during that session, including Wyden’s warrant requirement.
On the floor he said, “In the nick of time, bipartisanship has prevailed here in the Senate.” Congressional Record
Schumer voted against the GENIUS Act (stablecoin bill), which passed 68-30 with 18 Democrats in favor.
Single compiled source, attributed. Molly White
Schumer voted against S.2155, the Dodd-Frank rollback, which passed 67-31.
Schumer voted “present” on the Green New Deal resolution, which failed 0-57 with 43 present. He and other Democrats called it a sham vote. He did not vote against it.
Schumer forced a Senate vote to change filibuster rules for voting-rights bills; it failed 48-52 when Manchin and Sinema joined Republicans.
Secondary source, attributed. Democracy Docket
Counterpoints The honest version
Yes. Reporters describe him as the heavy favorite and he says, “I’ll be re-elected as majority leader” (Fox News, Nov 4, 2026). AP reported that allies say his standing has recovered since spring 2025 (AP via PBS). Our ask is not a prediction. It is that the caucus has a real choice rather than a foregone conclusion.
He did vote no (Nov 2025). We do not say otherwise. The criticism, from people like Rep. Ro Khanna, is that eight members of his caucus voted yes anyway, and that the deal “would never have happened if he had not blessed it.” That is Khanna’s opinion, and you are free to weigh it. See the vote.
Half of it. He voted yes on cloture (62-38) and no on passage (54-46). He said a shutdown would give Trump more power. We use the precise words “voted to advance” for that reason. See the vote.
It complicates it, and those votes are on our list (here). We make no claim that donations shaped any vote, and we do not claim crypto ties. The money section is there because voters should know the structure around the leader; the argument for new leadership does not depend on any one vote.
Not on this. He said he strongly disagrees with Schumer and that no one in the caucus is more critical, then: “it’s not Schumer, it’s the caucus. It’s not the caucus, it’s the Democratic Party.” He has not called for Schumer to go. The full quote is in the quotes section.
No, and we do not claim it. Gallup found 56% of Democrats disapproving of his job in December 2025, but disapproval is not the same as wanting a replacement. NBC’s 13% favorable figure covers all registered voters. See the polling.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse argues that “Schumer delivering a Democratic Senate certainly justifies another term as leader.” That is a serious view. Ours is that the same win is the best moment to hold an open contest, since the party is strong enough to have one. Both are opinions.
Today Schumer is Minority Leader. The caucus vote is closed-door and expected shortly after the election, with no official date confirmed (AP, Oct 2026). We do not predict an outcome.
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Show your work As of Nov 5, 2026
Other sources are linked beside each claim above. Some Senate and OpenSecrets pages could not be opened during research, so we lean on the Congressional Record and the FEC, and we say when something rests on a single source.