We already know Chris Van Hollen is staying on for another term at the DCCC. But who will head up the counterpart committee, the DSCC?
Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) says he will remain Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman at least until the outstanding 2008 Senate races are resolved, but still is keeping coy about whether he ultimately intends to pass the gavel to Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) in January.
Schumer, chased down after a closed-door session with Senate Democrats to determine next year’s leadership lineup, at first declined to comment about his future. But when pressed, the two-time DSCC chairman said he would stay on at the campaign committee post for at least a few more weeks. Three Senate races remain in doubt, including Minnesota, Alaska and Georgia.
“I’m staying in to handle the three more races, and then we’ll decide what to do,” Schumer said.
A reporter had to chase down Schumer? That might be a first – this is a guy who would walk across 100 miles of broken glass barefoot to do a show on a 10-watt radio station out of Elmira. Anyhow, that’s why I like Chuck E. Cheese Schumer, and why I would hope he’d stick around for one more term at the DS.
However, if Menendez is the heir apparent, then it’s either now or wait until 2014 – I don’t think Menendez could or should run the committee while seeking re-election, especially since New Jersey is seldom easy. Still, Menendez is only 54, which is very young for the Senate (he’s among the most junior twenty members). If his destiny is to lead the DSCC, he’ll have ample opportunity to do so before long.
Chuck Schumer can beat the crap out of any republican NRSC leader.
Bring on Big Bad John for another Republican Politician that Chuck Schumer can utterly embarrass.
He should stay on for at least one more election.
And that’s ok with me. Because he’ll own a big bad Democratic Senate.
Seriously, he’s already got 13 freshmen, for every one of whom he worked hard and for some of whom he walked through fire. Actually if you add in Cardin, Klobuchar, and Sanders, all three of whom he probably helped through the primaries, then he’d have 16. Add Landrieu and subtract Mark Warner and you’re still at 16. Not a bad base to work from when you’re trying to count to 30.
If I had to make a rough forecast for next year, it’d be +3 in the Senate, meaning four new freshmen and one lost incumbent. At that point he’d be at 20, just counting his own freshmen. His reputation is going to be solid gold regardless — any losses will be blamed on the administration more than the guy running DS. So what is the risk for him?
And I like Chuck at DS because I think he’s a little more open-minded about what types of people are recruitable than Rahm was. Franken may not have been completely wise, but he turned Merkley and Hagan into Senators. As long as he can scare the living daylights out of John Hoeven, he’s my man.
as prolific fundraisers and Grade-A recruiters. I am proud to have Van Hollen leading the D-Trip into the heat of an election one more time, and I would be proud to have Schumer leading the DSCC into the fire one more time. We are going to need our A-Game too. Cornyn is a much stronger fundraiser than Dole or Ensign and I do not think Cole set much of a bar with the NRCC. The atmosphere is potentially going to be tougher, depending on how appointments go and how the Republican party goes about re-defining themselves. If they are the Anti-Obama party and Obama is very popular we may be in good shape.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle was picked to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27…
Schumer can handle recruiting and strategy. Menendez can handle most of the fundraising. Maybe put him in charge of defending Democrats and Schumer in charge of picking up more seats?
that led him to be barely re-elected two years ago? IIRC I remember something like that, making NJ-Sen a race to watch back then.