Erin Kelly

USAToday

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats voted Wednesday to elect gregarious, hard-charging New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as minority leader for the new Congress.

"I am going to wake up every single day focused on how Senate Democrats can effectively fight for America's middle class and those struggling to join it," Schumer said minutes after his election.

He said his party must learn from its stunning defeat in last week's elections and unite behind a stronger economic message that acknowledges that the system is unfair to many Americans and must be improved.

The new minority leader expanded the Democratic leadership team from seven to 10, adding former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont as outreach chairman, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin as Democratic Conference secretary, and moderate Joe Manchin of West Virginia as vice chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

Schumer said there has been a post-election debate among Democrats about what direction the party should take.

"Now there's a debate going on about whether we should be the party of the diverse Obama coalition or the blue-collar American in the heartland," Schumer said. "Some think we need to make a choice...I believe there does not have to be a division. In fact, there must not be a division. We need to be the party that speaks to and works on behalf of all Americans."

He said Democrats need "a bigger, bolder, sharper-edged economic message" that focuses on helping middle class Americans do better. He added that the message must deal "directly with the unfairness in the American economic system."

"When you lose an election like this, you can't flinch," Schumer said. "You can't ignore it. You need to look it right in the eye and ask why, analyze it and learn from it. One thing we know is that we heard the American people loud and clear. They felt that the government wasn't working for them. They felt that the economy was rigged against them in many places and that the government was too beholden to big money and special interests."

Schumer said Democrats may find common ground with President-elect Donald Trump. "A silver lining in the deep clouds of this election is that President-elect Trump and his campaign were closer to us (on the economic issue) than to the Republican leadership."

Schumer, who turns 66 next week, will replace 77-year-old Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada. Reid opted to retire rather than run for re-election to the Senate, but he made it clear that he wanted Schumer to succeed him as Democratic leader.

Schumer, a Brooklyn native, offers a much different style than Reid, who grew up in tiny Searchlight, Nev. Reid was a savvy backroom deal-maker but is not as telegenic or outgoing as Schumer, said Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"Schumer is going to bring more energy and this upbeat attitude that we're going to get things done," Herzik said. "He's just a fresher face, and that might help him negotiate with Republicans."

Schumer will be negotiating with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who was re-elected to the top leadership spot by his GOP colleagues on Wednesday. McConnell has been majority leader since 2015 and served as minority leader in the previous four Congresses.

Both Schumer and McConnell are Senate veterans. McConnell, 74, was first elected 32 years ago and is Kentucky's longest-serving senator. Schumer was elected 18 years ago after serving in the House representing Brooklyn and Queens for 18 years.

While serving in the House, Schumer sponsored the Omnibus Crime Bill, which added 100,000 new officers to police departments throughout the nation, the Violence Against Women Act to combat domestic violence and sexual assault, and the Brady Bill to require mandatory background checks for handgun buyers. In the Senate, he was one of the "gang of eight" senators who crafted a bipartisan immigration reform bill that passed the Senate in 2013 but was never taken up by the House.

In 2006, Reid appointed Schumer as vice chairman of the Democratic Conference, the number three position in the Democratic leadership. Schumer has held that job for the past 10 years.

Schumer was born in Brooklyn in 1950. He was one of three children born to Selma, a homemaker, and Abe, who owned a small pest extermination business. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Schumer returned home to Brooklyn and won a seat in the New York State Assembly. At age 29, he won his first congressional race.

Schumer still lives in Brooklyn. He and his wife, Iris Weinshall, have two grown daughters. Weinshall is the chief operating officer of the New York Public Library, former vice chancellor at the City University of New York and former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation.

House Republicans unanimously back Paul Ryan for another term as speaker