Rep. Ro Khanna says fellow Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would garner a “lot of support” if she were to launch a primary challenge against Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer in New York.
Mr. Khanna of California said the recent blowback against Mr. Schumer — and the ensuing chatter about a possible primary challenge from Ms. Ocasio-Cortez — reflects the simmering desire for a new generation of leaders.
“The American people are fed up with the old guard. There needs to be a renewal,” Mr. Khanna said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“All I can say is there is real anger and there would be a lot of support for her if she decided to do it,” he said.
Mr. Schumer, 74, has faced calls to step down after he threw his support behind a Republican-crafted stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Democratic lawmakers and grassroots activists saw the spending fight as their best leverage to demand concessions from Republicans — including establishing guardrails around the work of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, which is tasked with scaling down the federal government.
Political analysts have wondered whether the blowback marks the beginning of the end for Mr. Schumer, who is not up for re-election until 2028.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, has been highly critical of Mr. Schumer’s decision.
“We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said at a recent Nevada rally with Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent.
Mr. Khanna said there were a lot of people at a recent Democratic retreat that “encouraged her” to challenge Mr. Schumer.
“People are upset with the status quo and we need a new generation of leadership,” he said.
