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Chuck Schumer

U.S. Senate · NY · Democrats · since 2023

also

Candidate for U.S. Senate · NY

Target Charles

Biography

Overview

Chuck Schumer is a Democrat serving as a U.S. Senator from New York since 1999. Born in Brooklyn in 1950, he is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He served in the New York State Assembly from 1975 to 1980 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1999 before being elected to the Senate. Schumer has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017, serving as Senate Majority Leader from 2021 to 2025 and currently as Senate Minority Leader. He became New York's longest-serving U.S. senator after his 2022 reelection.

Career

As Senate Majority Leader (2021-2025), Schumer shepherded major Biden administration legislation including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and the Respect for Marriage Act. The Senate confirmed record numbers of federal judges and the most diverse slate of judicial nominees in American history under his leadership, including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. He introduced the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993 and has worked on consumer protections, generic drug pricing, and net neutrality. Schumer is known for visiting all 62 New York counties annually and addressing local constituent concerns.

Prior political experience

Schumer was first elected to the Senate in 1998, defeating three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato with 54% of the vote. He was reelected in 2004 with 71% of the vote, in 2010 with 66% of the vote, in 2016 with 70% of the vote, and in 2022 with 56% of the vote. In the 2016 election, he received 15,665,835 votes representing 33.5% of votes cast (suggesting multiple candidates on the ballot). His 2022 reelection made him the longest-serving U.S. senator from New York.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress-0.355

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
-0.411
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 673 scored votes

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Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
5thU.S. Senate NY Class 32023–presentIn progressChuck Schumer—
4thU.S. Senate NY Class 32017–2023Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
3rdU.S. Senate NY Class 32011–2017Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
2ndU.S. Senate NY Class 32005–2011Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
1stU.S. Senate NY Class 31999–2005Term ended—Chuck Schumer
3rdU.S. House NY-91997–1999Term endedChuck SchumerYvette D. Clarke
2ndU.S. House NY-91995–1997Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
1stU.S. House NY-91993–1995Term ended—Chuck Schumer
5thU.S. House NY-101991–1993Term endedChuck SchumerJerrold Nadler
4thU.S. House NY-101989–1991Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
3rdU.S. House NY-101987–1989Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
2ndU.S. House NY-101985–1987Term endedChuck SchumerChuck Schumer
1stU.S. House NY-101983–1985Term ended—Chuck Schumer
1stU.S. House NY-161981–1983Term ended—George Latimer

Committee assignments

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term7

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
2016U.S. Senate NY Class 1Lost33.47%