Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had no problem voting to keep the government open back in March. So what’s different now? What’s stopping him from doing the same thing in October?
Part of the reason Schumer’s suddenly digging in is simple: he got scorched by the far left for working with Republicans back in March. The activist base accused him of “selling out,” and now he’s overcorrecting—sprinting to the left to save his own skin. Add to that the looming threat of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) eyeing his Senate seat, and it’s clear why Schumer’s panicking. He’s clinging to whatever credibility he still has with the progressive crowd.
But that desperate embrace of the left is costing him big time with voters in the middle. Ordinary Americans are tired of the political theatrics, and Schumer’s shutdown grandstanding isn’t fooling anyone. Even his campaign finance numbers suggest the walls are closing in.
He’s only raised a fraction of his typical donation haul over the past few months before Sept. 30. This was a great headline, by the way, from the New York Post:
No cheese for Chucky: Schumer’s campaign fundraising slows to a trickle https://t.co/K91XLMjo1Z pic.twitter.com/BlYM6lohv4
— New York Post (@nypost) October 25, 2025
Federal Election Commission filings show the five-term senator’s receipts slowed to a relative trickle for the last three months — raising questions about the 74-year-old’s future in a party in the throes of a far left youth movement.
The Brooklyn Democrat brought in just $133,000 during the three months ending Sept. 30 – while facing a potential primary challenge from “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx and Queens), 36, who raised $4.5 million during the last quarter for her House reelection campaign. […]
Schumer’s haul was less than half of the $337,000 he brought in during the equivalent period of his 2022 election — his October 2019 report. Senators serve six-year terms and typically ramp up fundraising as their race nears.
He actually spent more on his political operation than he raised from July through September, shelling out $322,000, his latest campaign filing reveals.
Schumer’s fundraising numbers tell the story. In past election cycles, he’s been a cash magnet — raking in $5.9 million in October 2022 as his reelection drew near. But this time around, things look very different. As of October 2025, Schumer’s sitting on just $8.6 million in the bank — less than the $11.8 million Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has already stockpiled for her 2026 House reelection campaign.
And that’s exactly what’s driving Schumer’s panic. The numbers are bad, the optics are worse, and now he’s grasping at anything to prove he’s still “fighting” Trump and the Republicans — even if it means misleading the American people about something as mundane as White House renovations. But it’s a fool’s errand. The far left isn’t going to reward him for his grandstanding; they’ll still flock to Ocasio-Cortez if she challenges him. He’s auditioning for a role he’ll never get.
Meanwhile, his political theater is holding the entire federal government hostage. The so-called “Schumer Shutdown” has dragged on for weeks, and just this Thursday, he even voted against paying our military and essential workers. That’s not leadership — that’s desperation. Democrats have spent years feeding the radical base, and now, the monster they created is turning on them.
And if any Democrat really deserves this, it’s Schumer.
