Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz announced his campaign to succeed retiring Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin to be the Senate Minority Whip — the No. 2 Senate Democrat — while some in the party say his bid comes too soon
Schatz has served as Durbin’s chief deputy whip since 2017, and he has been reportedly preparing to move up within the party for years. He made his bid public in an interview with The Washington Post in which Schatz said he would guide an “emerging generation” of the party’s leadership. (RELATED: Dem Senator Blocks Hundreds Of Trump Nominees Using Tactic He Once Called ‘Abuse Of Power’)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 03: U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) speaks alongside democratic senators to press in the U.S. Capitol on February 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, tech billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been given access by the Trump administration to the federal payments system which handles trillions of dollars every year. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“Not everybody loves the aspect of politics that occurs on the floor,” he told the newspaper as he confirmed his campaign. “This is where I think I can be most useful.”
Durbin announced in April that he will not seek reelection in the 2026 midterms, leaving Schatz an opportunity to begin having conversations with other senators. Some Democrats prepared to back him are No. 4 Senate Democrat New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. On Tuesday Fetterman told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Schatz’s “chill vibe” would make him a good whip.
“He’s a very agreeable kind of guy and a consensus builder, so I think it’s been pretty easy for me,” Fetterman told the DCNF. “Not that that’s not a statement against (Sen. Amy Klobuchar) she’s great too.”
Still, other senators are wanting the early moves in the whip race to halt.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the No. 3 Senate Democrat, and Washington Sen. Patty Murray are seen as potential candidates for the whip post. Durbin has declined to endorse a candidate to succeed him as the second-highest ranking Democrat in the upper chamber.
However, Klobuchar says that now is not the time to focus on a whip campaign.
“I truly believe that talking about something a year and a half from now — and we have no idea who’s gonna win the Senate, who’s going to get this — it’s a mistake,” Klobuchar told reporters Monday.
Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) has formally launched his campaign to take over as the No. 2 Senate Democrat, vowing to guide an “emerging generation” of the party’s leadership. https://t.co/dReGk9bfxS
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 28, 2025
Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren told Semafor in a Monday interview it’s more important for Democrats to focus on Donald Trump than a race to succeed Durbin as whip.
“I like Brian Schatz a lot and I have no interest in the job, but we don’t need to decide the whip race until after the midterms. Right now, we need to stay 110% focused on fighting [President] Donald Trump,” she told the outlet. “We need every single senator in this fight focused on Trump.”
In pushing the whip race down the line, Warren said the party has “plenty of time” to figure out who will shape their 2027 leadership team.
“I am happy to see people step up in the fight. We need all 47 senators in that fight right now,” she said in the interview. “We’ll know a lot more about where we are a year and a half from now. But right now, is when we have a chance to make a difference.”
Fetterman found the rejection of Schatz’s campaign to be silly, giving the DCNF a demonstration of walking and chewing gum at the same time.
“I can walk and chew gum. I can confirm that. I think we can have two things at the same time,” Fetterman told the DCNF. “Clearly Trump is sucking off all the oxygen, but that also means that we can do more things at the same time.”
“There’s just too much at stake to bicker among ourselves,” Schatz said in his exclusive interview with the Post.
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