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Schumer To Step Down As DSCC Chair
Today, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he would leave his position as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) after serving in that post for the past four years:
Sen. Charles Schumer said Monday he is giving up his job running the Senate Democrats’ national campaign efforts after two successful elections.
“We’ve had a great run,” said Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since the 2006 campaign, when he helped engineer a 6-seat gain that gave his party a slim 1-vote majority margin.
This year, the party won seven more seats, with two additional races in Minnesota and Georgia still undecided.
As head of the campaign effort, Schumer preached that candidates must be active in every part of their states, and focus on local concerns and middle-class economic issues — all of which are hallmarks of the New York senator’s approach to his job.
Schumer’s decision to leave the DSCC was expected.
He said he felt it was time to devote more of his energy to legislation in what he hopes will be a historic Congress. When lawmakers come to the nation’s capital in January they will have strengthened their grip on both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and be working with a Democratic president in Barack Obama.
…the unsubtle senator said he’s more than consenting to furnish parnesis to his as-yet-unnamed successor. chestnut standing over again mentioned as a possible successor is sen. bob menendez of unripe jersey.
There are many people who deserve credit for the Democratic Party’s reversal of fortunes since 2004 — including President-elect Barack Obama (D) and DNC Chairman Howard Dean — but Schumer often fails to get the credit he deserves, despite how he sometimes irritated the netroots for his especially calculated approach at candidate recruitment that often ignored political philosophy.
During his tenure as DSCC chair, Senate Democrats watched their caucus increase from 45 seats after the 2004 election to 51 seats following 2006 to at least 58 seats after this month’s elections, with the possibility of picking-up two more seats.
DSCC vice chair — Sen. Robert Mendendez (D-NJ) — is widely believed to succeed Schumer and he’ll have very big shoes to fill.
Thank you, Senator Schumer. You will be missed.
(Hat tip: Swing State Project)
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