Chuck Schumer

Senator Chris Van Hollen announced on X late Wednesday night that he will run for Senate Majority Leader, opening the first open challenge to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Democrats flipped both houses of Congress in the 3 November election, securing 55 Senate seats. Schumer, 75, says he holds enough votes to retain his position. Van Hollen says he has backing from more than ten Democratic senators and endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders and Michigan Senator‑elect Abdul El‑Sayed. A secret‑ballot vote is scheduled for early December.

Scott Colom has secured the U.S. Senate seat from Mississippi, defeating incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde‑Smith by a narrow margin of about 0.5 percentage point, roughly 4,600 votes. The Associated Press and major networks called the race on 11 Nov after nearly all ballots were counted. Colom, a 43‑year‑old former district attorney, becomes the state's first Black senator since the Reconstruction era. Democrats now hold 55 of the 100 Senate seats, with Republicans at 44 and the Alaska contest still undecided. Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice‑President Kamala Harris campaigned for Colom in the final weeks.

The Democratic Party now holds 54 seats in the Senate and 228 seats in the House, giving it clear control of both chambers. Voters flipped four Senate seats previously held by Republicans, including a win in Texas that made James Talarico the state's first Democratic senator since 1988 and a victory in South Carolina. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa also became the first Latina governor. The Justice Department deployed about 1,000 monitors to polling places nationwide, citing election integrity as a top priority.