A clique of Democratic senators who have dubbed themselves the “Fight Club” is demanding Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the party’s official campaign organization take a hands-off approach to next year’s midterm elections.
The group of rabble-rousers is accusing Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) of meddling in favor of so-called “establishment” candidates and wants them to be neutral.
But a source who was involved with arranging an early “Fight Club” meeting claims that the clique has quickly devolved into a “one big, giant mess” of pols angling to get credit with the Democratic base.
“[Sen.] Tina [Smith] first conceived the idea to engage the New York Times and then the club turned sort of dysfunctional,” the source told The Post. “The biggest fight in the club is among the comms teams. No staffer trusts each other, and they’re looking for ways to get their boss maximum credit with the left.”
“It’s one big, giant mess. Senator [John] Thune has something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving because more leaks are coming. It’s way beyond Chuck Schumer at this point. It’s dysfunction.”
The group — whose members include Sens. Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — are particularly concerned about perceived DSCC meddling in heated primary contests in Maine, Michigan and Minnesota, according to the New York Times
“We have a lot of good candidates out there, and the DSCC has seemed to put their foot on the scale in favor of the more establishment candidates as opposed to some of these, you know, other candidates,” Van Hollen told “CNN News Central” Tuesday.
“It’s fine to support a Sherrod Brown [of Ohio] who was recruited into a race, but there are many active and open Senate Democratic primaries,” he added. “It’s our view that for the most part these should play out without interference from the Senate Democratic leadership.”
The existence of the “fight club” is the latest sign of rank-and-file discontent with Schumer, who has led the Senate Democratic caucus since 2017.
A spokesperson for Schumer downplayed concerns about infighting and stressed that the minority leader’s priority is ensuring Democrats can flip the Senate in 2026.
“Our North Star has always been winning the Senate majority in 2026 and any decision is made towards achieving that goal,” a Schumer spokesperson told The Post. “Sen. Schumer is focused more on winning than ideology when deciding who to support.”
While the DSCC hasn’t officially made endorsements in any of the three contentious Senate primaries, the group is speculated to favor Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), and Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.)
“I think it needs a rebrand, because it’s more like ‘Never Won a Real Fight Club,’ because these are a bunch of people who have never been engaged or never themselves been in a really competitive race,” a Democratic strategist who’s been involved with Senate campaigns vented to The Post.
This source noted that some of the “Fight Club” members benefited from interventions by prior Democratic leaders when they were campaigning for the Senate.
“All of these things are hypocrisy at a minimum, but they are also campaign malpractice,” the source added, arguing it undercuts the push to get “the best candidate.”
Last week, six senators — including three members of the “fight club” — cut a video endorsing Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in her bid to replace the retiring Smith, though the incumbent was not among them.
“We think she’s the sort of anti-business-as-usual candidate,” explained Van Hollen, who did appear in the endorsement video.
Schumer, 75, has grappled with pressure from his caucus to be more combative against Republicans and the Trump administration.
Back in March, he faced a revolt after declining to block a GOP effort to prevent a government shutdown. After seven Democrats and one Dem-aligned independent caved earlier this month and allowed the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown to end, Schumer faced blowback again from his left flank.
No sitting Democratic senator has called for new elections for Senate leader, but others — including House Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna of California and insurgent Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner have called for new leadership.
Publicly, Van Hollen has been among the Democratic senators most willing to publicly cross party leadership.
In September, he lashed out at Democratic leaders for dragging their feet on endorsing now-NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
“The DSCC is focused on winning Senate seats and flipping the majority in 2026, and our strategy is guided by the best way to do that,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle told the New York Times.
Smith’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
