Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing a revolt within his own caucus over his failed recruitment of Maine Gov. Janet Mills to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, with frustrated Democratic senators now demanding he stay out of contested primaries in battleground states.
Mills abandoned her campaign before the primary after failing to generate enthusiasm or donations, effectively handing the Democratic nomination to polling favorite Graham Platner. The collapse has become a significant blow to Schumer's reputation among his peers, according to Democratic Party insiders.
The Hill reported that several anonymous Democratic senators are now calling Schumer's support for Mills a "miscalculation" and a "mistake," and are urging him to "butt out' in other contested Democratic primaries — particularly in Michigan and Minnesota.
"It's a miscalculation," one Democratic senator told The Hill, arguing that Schumer's strategy is driven by "inertia" rather than political reality. The senator pointed out that voters are hungry for fresh faces promising big change, not recycled establishment candidates.
"It's easy for there to be inertia in how we approach things and it's a formula that has worked in the past. But I think what Graham Platner did and continues to do in this election cycle is channel the economic frustration of average working people in a way that just cut through all the bull," the lawmaker told The Hill.
A second Democratic senator criticized Schumer for continuing to rely on outdated tactics. "I don't doubt his intention. I think he really believed that [Mills] was going to be the very best candidate, but it didn't work out that way. I think he's making decisions based on sort of an old-school book of how you win elections and what it takes to win elections. Things are changing a lot," the source said.
The senator also warned Schumer against attempting to "pick winners and losers" in key primaries, accusing him of steering donor money toward more moderate candidates like Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan and Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota.