Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who will lose control of the Senate agenda next year as a result of Republicans’ string of victories on election night, urged his GOP colleagues to embrace bipartisanship next year to get things done.
“As we await the final tallies in elections across the country, Senate Democrats remain committed to our values and to working with our Republican colleagues to deliver for the American people,” Schumer said in a statement.
“As I’ve said time and again, in both the majority and the minority, the only way to get things done in the Senate is through bipartisan legislation while maintaining our principles — and the next two years will be no different,” he said.
Schumer made no mention of what went wrong for Democrats in the election, which cost them at least three Senate seats and possibly four or five, depending on how uncounted ballots come in for Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).
Schumer, who urged President Biden to drop his reelection bid after hearing reverberating concerns about Biden’s viability from his Democratic colleagues, praised Vice President Harris for running an inspiring campaign.
“Vice President Kamala Harris’s historic candidacy inspired millions and her vision for a better future for all Americans will endure. Her advocacy on many issues — from lower costs, more affordable housing, and a fairer tax system — will continue to have strong impacts on America and on our party,” he said.
Schumer had predicted just a few months ago that Democrats would keep their Senate majority and possibly even pick up a seat in Texas or Florida.
Instead, he watched longtime colleagues Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) go down in defeat, despite their long records of delivering accomplishments for their states. Both incumbents got swept aside by a strong Republican tide as President-elect Trump carried Montana by 21 points and Ohio by 11 points.
Schumer downplayed the quality of the Senate Republican challengers during the campaign.
“We’re seeing this in the Senate, our candidates are running even further ahead than we expected at this point. Why is that happening? First, we have three strengths in our candidates. … Our candidates, whether they be incumbent or not, they’re mainstream people. They’ve always focused on the mainstream. … Second, they’re identified with their states. … Third, this is the most interesting point, I think. They are implementing what we did in ’21 and ’22,” he told reporters in August.
By contrast, he argued that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) had “recruited a bunch of out-of-touch billionaires.”
“Many of these people moved away from their states decades ago and only came back to run in the last few years. They are so out of touch with politics, with what people feel, with what people need that it’s coming through,” he said of the GOP candidates.
