Updated November 8, 2026, 2:30 p.m. ET
Kansas Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton is among Democrats who won’t vote for current Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to lead the Democratic majority in January, calling him “polarizing.”
During a Nov. 8 interview on “Meet the Press,” the pastor, who leads the nation’s largest Methodist church, Resurrection, indicated he would not vote for the New York lawmaker to oversee the Senate once Democrats gain a majority next year.
“I don’t mean to disrespect Chuck Schumer. I really don’t, and I’ve told him that too. But I think, at least where I live in Kansas, he’s kind of a polarizing figure,” Hamilton said.
The senator-elect said his opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, mentioned Schumer far more than the religious leader during their two debates. Many Kansans “perceive him as being more left-wing and as someone who is divisive,” Hamilton argued.
USA TODAY reached out to Schumer’s office for comment.
Hamilton, the first Kansas Democrat elected to the Senate in nearly 100 years, said he believes the Senate needs a unifying force.
“What I’m looking for is a leader who can lead from the center,” Hamilton said. “Someone who can bring Republicans and Democrats together, someone who can bring together the different factions of the Democratic Party. Someone with fresh ideas.”
Hamilton is not the only Democratic figure to break with Schumer.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan, suggested she might challenge Schumer during an appearance at Crooked Con, a progressive media event founded by former aides to President Barack Obama.
“I said loud and clear that we need a new generation of leaders. We couldn’t have received a clearer signal than Tuesday,” Slotkin said, referring to Democrats’ resounding Election Day victories.
A progressive group of left-of-center freshmen in Hamilton also opposes Schumer as leader.
For example, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, both senators-elect, have vowed not to support Schumer as well as Maine’s Troy Jackson and Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed.
Contributor: Emily Condon
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