华盛顿——连查克·舒默自己都不敢相信。美联社预测，民主党将成功实现其夺回参议院控制权的渺茫希望——而且不仅仅是翻转几个席位，而是至少翻转七个席位。
WASHINGTON–Even Chuck Schumer couldn’t believe it. The Associated Press had projected that Democrats would succeed in their longshot effort to win back control of the Senate–and not just by flipping a few seats, but by flipping at least seven.“Is this a night?!” the jubilant Senate minority leader asked as he greeted journalists and staffers in a courtyard of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee near Capitol Hill late Tuesday night.
“这是个什么夜晚啊？！”周二深夜，兴高采烈的参议院少数党领袖舒默在国会山附近的民主党参议员竞选委员会院子里迎接记者和工作人员时问道。“天哪！哇，哇，哇！”
“Oh man! Wow, wow, wow!”
去年春天，进步派和活动人士曾轰炸这位75岁的纽约州民主党人的办公室，要求他辞职并发起初选挑战的威胁，因为他与少数其他与民主党结盟的参议员一起投票，以维持政府开放。反弹之剧烈，迫使舒默因安全顾虑推迟了原定的图书巡回宣传活动。进步派批评者将舒默描绘为过于守旧、与对特朗普总统充满愤怒的选民脱节。
Last spring, progressives and activists had bombarded the 75-year-old New York Democrat with calls to resign and primary threats after he voted with a small group of other senators who caucus with Democrats to keep the government open. The backlash was so profound that Schumer had to postpone a planned book tour due to security concerns. Schumer was cast by progressive critics as too old-school and out of touch with voters consumed with anger at President Trump.
如今，在经历了两次冒险的政府停摆后，正如舒默所言——“逆境求生”，他明确表示，预计将在下届国会再次当选为参议院民主党领袖，只不过这次将身处多数党地位。民主党在下届参议院将拥有至少54个席位，阿拉斯加和密西西比州的结果仍过于接近难以预测。
Now, after two risky government shutdowns and—as Schumer put it—“against all odds,” he made clear he expects to be re-elected as Senate Democrats’ leader in the next Congress, this time in the majority. Democrats will have at least 54 seats in the next Senate, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call.
周三上午，他在自家后院烧烤架上烹饪的照片中，烤热狗和汉堡旁摆放着落选共和党人的照片。
On Wednesday morning, he posted a photo of himself cooking on his backyard grill, with photos of defeated Republicans among the hot dogs and burgers.
民主党胜利的规模令共和党策略师敲响警钟，他们受挫的政党可能面临未来三个令人生畏的选举周期。
“这是共和党历史性且灾难性的失败，你无法否认这一点，要从中恢复过来将需要数年时间，”史蒂文·劳说。当参议员米奇·麦康奈尔（共和党-肯塔基州）担任共和党领袖时，劳在参议院领导基金超级政治行动委员会掌舵，帮助建立了共和党的参议院多数优势。
The magnitude of Democrats’ wins prompted Republican strategists to raise the alarm that their battered party could be looking at three daunting election cycles ahead.“You can’t deny this is an historic and catastrophic loss for the Republican Party that will take years to dig out of,” said Steven Law, who helped build Republican Senate majorities at the helm of the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC when Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) was GOP leader.
“仅参议院的失利就会影响我们到2032年，甚至更久。”要在周二取得胜利，需要舒默及其左翼派别搁置分歧，为赢得大选这一更大目标服务，聚焦于可负担得起和反腐败的信息。一个问题是，民主党联盟的这两个部分能否达成持久的共识。政治斗争在即——包括为政府提供资金、恢复医疗补贴以及可能的弹劾——所有这些都可能考验民主党的团结。
“Just the Senate losses alone will be with us through 2032, if not longer.”Producing victories on Tuesday required both Schumer and his left flank to set aside differences to serve the larger goal of winning, focused on a message of affordability and fighting corruption. One question is whether the two parts of the Democratic coalition can find a durable accord. Political fights loom ahead—including on funding the government, restoring healthcare subsidies and possible impeachments—all of which could strain Democrats’ unity.
此外，他一些新当选的同事已明确表示，他们不支持舒默担任领袖。“我们是一个大帐篷政党，”舒默说，并指出整个政治光谱上的民主党候选人都共享着极为相似的、聚焦于降低成本的信息。“你在缅因州谈论它的方式与在堪萨斯州谈论它的方式不同，但都是同一个信息，”他说。“而我们将作为一个党团团结起来，聚焦于这些议题。”
Also, some of his newly elected colleagues have made it clear they aren’t fans of Schumer as leader. “We’re a big tent party,” Schumer said, noting that Democratic candidates across the spectrum all shared remarkably similar messages focused on reducing costs. “You talk about it differently in Maine than you talk about it in Kansas, but it was all the same message,” he said. “And we will be united as a caucus focusing on those issues.”
这“就像是一场包办婚姻，”民主党策略师丽贝卡·卡茨说，她曾为密歇根州当选参议员阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德的竞选活动提供建议——这位民主党人在初选中击败了舒默挑选的候选人。但她说，最终，党内双方都“理解了任务”，即翻转参议院。舒默通过一个与他结盟的超级政治行动委员会，向埃尔-赛义德的竞选投入了约7000万美元。
It “was like a shotgun marriage,” said Democratic strategist Rebecca Katz, who advised the campaign of Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed—the Democrat who defeated a Schumer-picked primary candidate. But in the end, both parts of the party “understood the assignment” of flipping the Senate, she said. Schumer put about $70 million into El-Sayed’s race via a super PAC aligned with him.
现在，卡茨在谈到舒默和参议院民主党领导层时说，“我希望他们能对什么是可能的有稍微不同的想法。”一些新当选的民主党人表示，他们不打算投票支持舒默担任领袖。缅因州当选参议员特洛伊·杰克逊本周确认了这一立场。埃尔-赛义德，以及伊利诺伊州当选参议员朱莉安娜·斯特拉顿和明尼苏达州当选参议员佩吉·弗拉纳根，也表示他们不会支持舒默。
Now, Katz said, speaking about Schumer and Senate Democratic leadership, “my hope is that they will think a little differently about what is possible.”Some newly elected Democrats have said they don’t plan to vote for Schumer as leader. Sen.-elect Troy Jackson of Maine affirmed that position this week. El-Sayed, along with Sens.-elect Juliana Stratton of Illinois and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, have also said that they won’t back Schumer.
还有参议员参议员克里斯·范霍伦（民主党-马里兰州）表示，党团需要就民主党的目标及其实现途径进行“充分讨论”，然后再决定支持谁担任领袖。“我已经说过，我已告诉舒默参议员我将支持其他人。所以现在情况没有变化，”杰克逊在胜选前夕表示。他说，如果舒默当选民主党领袖，他将推动舒默接受并推进“全民医保”方案。
And Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) said the caucus needs to have a “robust discussion” about Democrats’ goals and how to achieve them before committing to anyone as leader.“I already said that I told Sen. Schumer that I’m going to support somebody else. So it’s no different now,” Jackson said on the eve of his victory. He said that if Schumer wins election as Democratic leader, he would push him to embrace and advance “Medicare for All.”
民主党领袖将在今年晚些时候通过无记名投票决定。舒默尚未透露未来两年之外的计划，包括他是否将在2028年竞选连任。“这不是关于我，”他在周三表示。
Democrats’ leader is determined in a secret ballot vote later this year. Schumer hasn’t addressed his plans beyond the next two years, including whether he will run again for his seat in 2028. “This isn’t about me,” he said on Wednesday.
参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔（民主党-康涅狄格州）表示，没人应该怀疑舒默的职位稳固性。他称舒默是民主党历史性胜利的“首席设计师”，并提到他在候选人招募、筹款以及聚焦物价和腐败问题的信息传递方面发挥了作用。“我认为他非常有功劳，党团也意识到了这一点，”他说。
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) said no one should doubt Schumer’s job security. He called him the “principal architect” of Democrats’ historic victory, citing his candidate recruitment, fundraising and messaging focus on costs and corruption. “I think he’s very much to be credited and the caucus realizes it,” he said.
当被问及如何应对进步派民主党人可能发起的弹劾特朗普的推动时，舒默表示，获胜党派的首要任务必须是解决高物价问题和打击腐败。“听着，腐败现象如此猖獗，必须进行一些调查，但我们不会偏离核心目标，”他说。
Asked about how he would handle a possible push from progressive Democrats to impeach Trump, Schumer said the victorious party’s No. 1 focus has to be addressing high costs and going after corruption.“Look, there was such rampant corruption, there has to be some investigations, but we’re not going to take our eye off the ball,” he said.
在结束竞选之夜对媒体的讲话后，舒默声音颤抖、情绪激动地感谢了工作人员，并与长期政治盟友JB·珀尔施紧紧拥抱。珀尔施担任参议院多数派政治行动委员会主席，这是一个与舒默有关联的超级政治行动委员会，在关键参议院竞选中投入巨资。“我简直不敢相信，”舒默说，仍显震惊，“太神奇了。”
二十年前，珀尔施曾任民主党参议员竞选委员会执行主任，舒默担任主席，当时民主党乘另一波浪潮，赢得六个共和党把持的席位，于2006年夺回参议院多数党地位。
After wrapping up his Election Night remarks to the press, Schumer, his voice shaking with emotion, thanked staff and bear-hugged his longtime political ally, JB Poersch. Poersch serves as president of Senate Majority PAC, a Schumer-linked super PAC that spent heavily in key Senate races.“I can’t believe it,” Schumer said, still in awe. “It’s amazing.”Twenty years ago, Poersch had been executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, with Schumer as chairman, when Democrats rode another wave, capturing six Republican-held seats to win the Senate majority in 2006.
当被问及民主党在今年艰难的参议院选举地图上表现优于预期，这是否算作对舒默的平反时，波尔施表示，他将由其他人来判断这是否是恰当的措辞。“你只需要继续骑在马背上，”他说。“舒默从未从马上摔下来。他一直骑在马背上。” 请致信 Lindsay Wise，邮箱 lindsay.wise@wsj.com，以及 Siobhan Hughes，邮箱 Siobhan.hughes@wsj.com。
Asked if Democrats’ overperformance on a tough Senate map this year is vindication for Schumer, Poersch said he’d let others judge if that was the right term.“You just gotta stay on the horse,” he said. “Schumer never fell off the horse. He stays on the horse.”Write to Lindsay Wise at lindsay.wise@wsj.com and Siobhan Hughes at Siobhan.hughes@wsj.com