Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are viewed by Senate insiders as the three lawmakers competing to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) as Senate Democratic whip, the No. 2-ranking member the Senate Democratic leadership.
Schatz, the chief deputy whip, appears to be a strong frontrunner for the job as he’s already performing some of the whip’s duties in helping to manage the floor, according to Democratic sources.
But the 52-year-old Schatz could face stiff composition from Klobuchar, 64, if she decides to aim to become the next Senate Democratic leader instead of running again for president in 2028.
He could face another formidable opponent in Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), 74, who previously held the No. 3-ranking job in the Senate Democratic caucus.
Senate Democratic sources whisper that Klobuchar is less popular than Schatz among colleagues, but they acknowledge she’s a “talented” leader and has an edge over her colleague from Hawaii when it comes to speaking at press conferences and putting together bipartisan legislation.
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“Schatz, Klobuchar and Murray are the ones that are angling for whip,” said one person close to the Senate Democratic conference.
“Schatz is really well liked and has a group of five or six young guns, Murphy, Booker, Heinrich and others … who are trying to get more say and get younger [leadership] in the caucus,” the source said, referring to Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.).
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“Schatz has got the money and the youth behind him,” the source added.
Senate sources say any leadership race is tough to predict because it often comes down to the interpersonal relationships within the caucus and campaigning is done privately senator to senator.
“You never can tell with leadership elections because it’s all done behind closed doors and the vote itself is private, but as far as I can tell, Sen. Schatz seems to be in a pretty good position if he wants to take the leap,” said Jim Manley, who served as a senior aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and former Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.).
“He’s good on the issues. He’s articulate. He thinks well on his feet. He’s good interviews. A good solid, substantive senator,” Manley said of Schatz.
“Anyone thinking about jumping in is going to be in a good position. Sen. Durbin has years of experience, which is going to be tough to replicate, but those that are being talked about should handle themselves quite well,” he said.
Schatz would be helped in whip’s race by his chief of staff, Reema Dodin, who previously served in President Biden’s office of legislative affairs, and before that as deputy chief of staff and floor director for Durbin.
A Senate Democratic aide told The Hill that Schatz has been calling colleagues about replacing Durbin following his announcement Wednesday that he would not run for re-election next year.
The aide said Democratic senators view Schatz “as very engaged, very savvy with social media” and a good fit for the spot given his role as chief deputy whip.
Klobuchar, however, outranks Schatz in the Democratic leadership. She currently holds the No. 3 position as chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee after succeeding Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who retired at the end of 2024.
Murray right now is focused on this year’s government funding fights with Republicans but she’s not ruling out a future leadership run.
One Democratic aide described Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the fourth-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, as having a lot of “strength” within the Democratic caucus.
But Booker is a good friend of Schatz’s and therefore viewed as unlikely to challenge the Hawaii Democrat.
That leaves Klobuchar as Schatz’s toughest likely competitor.
Some Democrats view Klobuchar as a possible successor to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as Democratic leader.
Klobuchar has kept her plans close to the vest but one longtime Democratic aide said the Minnesota senator has thought carefully about her potential path to becoming the next leader.
But that path would get more complicated if Schatz is elected to the whip’s position after the 2026 election.
Schumer’s fifth Senate term doesn’t end until 2028, and the 74-year-old leader hasn’t given any indication he would consider retirement.
Klobuchar has several big advantages heading into any Senate leadership race.
She is the previous chair of the powerful Senate Rules Committee and played a key role in passing the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, an important accomplishment of the 117th Congress.
Congress passed the law to ensure future electoral votes for president reflect the will of the people in each state and to improve the process for certifying the Electoral College vote. It was passed to prevent another Jan. 6-style attack on the Capitol.
She now serves as the top Democrat on Senate Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a top Democratic priority.
And she is viewed by Democratic insiders as having more of a connection with voters than Schatz. They cite the surprising traction she gained with voters during her 2020 presidential campaign, which she memorably launched in the middle of a Minnesota snowstorm.
Klobuchar showed her toughness and determination as a candidate right at the start of her campaign by speaking while bareheaded to a warmly-bundled-up crowd in Minneapolis as the snowdrifts collected.
Her best showing came in the 2020 New Hampshire primary, where she won nearly 20 percent of the vote, finishing third behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Pete Buttigieg.
Now, she has a tough decision to make.
Should she challenge Schatz to become the next Democratic whip, which would put her in the poll position to someday succeed Schumer as Senate Democratic leader?
Or should she make another run for the presidency against a crowded Democratic field that is likely to include political heavyweights such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate colleagues such as Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist and former Senate leadership aide, said Klobuchar did well in the 2020 presidential race but it’s hard to predict how she would fare against a different field in 2028.
Heading into the 2020 Democratic primary, Klobuchar had carved out a lane for herself as the Midwestern pragmatist who knew how to get things done, he said. But she might have more competition in that lane if other Midwesterners such as Whitmer or Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, 60, jump into the race.
“She did better than anyone expected in 2020. But I think part of that is the circumstance of who you’re running against,” Mollineau said.
“There was a lane for her. She was the pragmatic, Midwestern, get-stuff-done United States senator,” he added. “It could certainly happen again but she’ s not going to be the only person in” that lane.
If Klobuchar decides to run for whip, that could be a tough race as well.
Schatz has strong relationships with rising stars within the Democratic caucus and has already earned good grades from some Senate Democratic colleagues for helping to manage whip counts and letting vulnerable senators know when their votes are needed or not needed on critical amendments or nominees.
He has a strong relationship with K Street as an approachable and “nice” senator and is expected to be able to be a strong fundraiser for the Democratic leadership if he moves up the ladder.
“He’s very popular with a lot of people,” a Democratic strategist said of Schatz.
