Maryland Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen will be tasked with helping the Democratic Party fight to keep its 48 Senate seats in the 2018 election as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Van Hollen, who has served seven terms in the House of Representatives, was elected this month to fill retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s seat. He is the first senator-elect to be tapped to chair the DSCC, The Post reported.
“Democrats are obviously going to have to take a look at exactly what happened in this campaign around the country,” he said in a Tuesday interview with WTTG. “Address, obviously, some of the shortcomings.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Van Hollen was the “first choice for the DSCC chairman because of his talents, his work ethic, and his experience.”
Van Hollen will also replace Mikulski on the Senate Appropriations Committee, according to Mikulski’s news release.
As a newcomer to the Senate, Van Hollen has indicated he will be looking to bridge the gap after a very polarizing election, and has been in correspondence with Republican colleagues of his from the House since the election, he told WTTG.
“I would welcome the opportunity to work on those particular issues, and the others issues where there’s common ground,” he said.
