No one remembers exactly when they started, but there is no doubt that the campaigns for Senate majority leader are raging on Capitol Hill. They have not been formally declared, of course, and for good reason — the position is still filled. But as Harry Reid’s November re-election has looked increasingly imperiled, his two top deputies in the Senate have become more overt in their quests for his job. And in a Senate that is already near paralyzed by partisan rancor, the two Democrats’ maneuverings are threatening to further gum up the works. (Watch a video about Harry Reid.)
Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, and New York’s Chuck Schumer, who is No. 3, for several months now have been trying to one up each other in wooing their colleagues.
Full story: Schumer vs. Durbin: An Early Fight to Replace Harry Reid – TIME