LAS VEGAS — Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) was laying the groundwork for a Senate leadership position before Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) even got to the Senate.
So it wasn’t too heavy of a lift for Rosen and Kelly as they led Schatz’s “whip team” in his bid to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as the Senate Democratic whip.
He’s basically already doing the job, Democrats say.
“It’s not like [Schatz] just said, ‘I want to do this.’ He’s put in the work with all of us,” Rosen said in an interview here after speaking at a Medicaid-focused event. “Since [Durbin] announced his retirement, I will tell you that Sen. Schatz has really led the way in making sure that we’re educated, that we’re informed. He’s really stepped into that role.”
Beyond 2026. Schatz officially locked up the requisite votes to win the coveted job earlier this month. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also endorsed Schatz. So regardless of whether Schumer runs for reelection in 2028, Schatz’s ascension to the whip role makes him the favorite to succeed Schumer as Democratic leader.
In an interview in Phoenix last week, Kelly wouldn’t project out that far, saying it’s all “hypothetical.” But Kelly acknowledged that the 52-year-old Schatz represents a new generation of leaders — something Democratic voters have been clamoring for.
“He’s worked very closely with Durbin’s whip team. He’s the guy that’s hanging out on the floor. He’s the guy you go to when you’re like, what’s going on right now?” Kelly said of Schatz. “Kind of like with Durbin, he was doing the job.”
Schatz has maintained close relationships with the party’s “old guard,” serving as a top adviser on the leadership team while simultaneously building strong ties with a new generation of Democratic senators. He’s straddled both camps successfully, giving him credibility across the party. This was also evident when Schatz joined Schumer in voting for the stopgap government funding bill in March, a decision that angered progressives.
In a statement after Schumer backed him for whip, Schatz credited Schumer with helping deliver Democrats’ legislative accomplishments under former President Joe Biden. And Schumer backed Schatz from the jump, helping the Hawaii Democrat lock up the necessary support before publicly endorsing him.
On the trail. Schatz is also someone whom aspiring Senate Democrats want to see on the campaign trail in 2026. Schatz likely plans to do this, while many of his fellow Democratic senators are spending time testing the waters for a 2028 presidential run.
Mallory McMorrow, who’s running for Senate in a crowded and intense Democratic primary in Michigan, said Schatz is “somebody that, when some crazy shit is going down, he just says so.”
“Voters want their elected officials to feel the way that they feel. And that requires a willingness to not always have this politically correct filter on that comes across as disingenuous,” McMorrow told us. “I think Sen. Schatz offers that and offers it in droves, and I’m really excited that he’s moving up in leadership.”
McMorrow has also said she wouldn’t vote for Schumer to be Democratic leader, though it’s worth noting that there’s no indication Schumer’s job is in jeopardy.
