Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader from New York, might find himself in the blue wave that he wants to ride into power this November. More and more Democratic candidates are telling Axios that they can’t promise to back his leadership.
It’s a big change from Jeffries’ “untouchable” position in the Democratic Party just a few years ago. Axios said this could make it harder for him to become speaker than people thought.
Jeffries and his supporters say they aren’t worried at all about a lot of people leaving. They say that even though he is in the minority, he hasn’t lost a Democratic vote in 20 speakers’ ballots.
But this group of new students could be the first challenge to the support that has always been there. If the Democrats win the House, a group of good candidates has made it clear that voting for Jeffries as speaker is not a sure thing.
Axios said last fall that more than 80 Democratic House candidates from all over the country were either unsure about supporting Jeffries’ leadership or were completely against it. Things have only gotten worse for him since then.
Mai Vang, the main progressive primary challenger to Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), had said before that she would “support the person that my future colleagues elect as our leader.”
But last week, without being asked, she told Axios, “Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the leaders of the Democratic Party, have not been able to get people to stand up against Trump’s illegal war. Their silence as AIPAC and corporations pour millions of dollars into Congressional primaries is deafening.”
Vang said, “I can’t support this kind of leadership.” “We need new leaders and a new direction if we want to beat Trump and win back the trust of working Americans.”
The Democratic Party can’t just say that Vang is a “also-ran.”
By the end of 2025, Vang, a 41-year-old member of the Sacramento City Council, had raised $282,000, while Matsui had raised $750,000. Vang was running against older politicians, like Matsui, who is 81 years old.
Axios talked to a Democrat in the House who said Matsui has privately expressed concerns about her chances of being re-elected and that she “has to pay attention.”
Since October, new retirement announcements and congressional map redraws have led to open primaries with even more candidates who are not yet sold on or are outright hostile to Jeffries’ leadership. Adam Hamawy, a candidate in New Jersey’s 12th district, said, “Most Democrats agree that he’s been failing to meet the moment,” and that he is “looking for someone that’s gonna stand up to the administration.”
Claire Valdez, a member of the New York State Assembly who is running to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), told Axios that “there would need to be some conversations” if she were to support Jeffries’ leadership.
“I’ve never met Leader Jeffries and I’ve never talked to him,” said Nate Blouin, a state senator from Utah and the Congressional Progressive Caucus-backed candidate for a new, safely blue district in Salt Lake City.
Blouin said he is excited to “vote for someone who is dedicated to fighting for our communities, our shared goals, and making sure that we are moving in a direction that is in line with the American people on foreign policy.”
“I believe those are very important issues,” he said.
Assemblyman Alex Bores from New York, who wants to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), said, “I’ve seen real fight coming from our caucus, and that matters.”
“”There’s room to grow, but I’m encouraged,” he said. He also said that Jeffries is “doing a difficult, thankless job” and that he would support his fellow New Yorker’s leadership.
Members of Jeffries’ caucus say he was able to keep them mostly together during several government shutdowns.
In a statement to Axios, Jeffries spokesperson Justin Chermol said, “Leader Jeffries is focused on fixing the affordability crisis, stopping the bombing in the Middle East, controlling ICE, and taking back the House to stop Republican extremists from destroying America.”
“We don’t want to hear any more about a silly story from the same outlet that once made a big deal out of Leader Jeffries facing a tough primary. What happened with that? Cheremol added.
Some people who don’t like Jeffries have come up with other ideas. Anabel Mendoza, a progressive running for office in Illinois’ 7th District, told Axios that she wants Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) to be in charge because she is “10 toes down on what matters.”
The results of these progressives’ primaries could decide whether Jeffries easily wins the speakership or has to go through the same 15-ballot slog as Kevin McCarthy did in 2023. It all depends on whether the Democrats win the House and by how many seats.
How well these progressives do in their primaries and whether Jeffries wins the House and by how many seats will decide whether he easily becomes Speaker or has to go through the same 15-ballot slog that Kevin McCarthy did in 2023.
Some candidates said that if the Democrats don’t win the House, the way people talk about Jeffries’ leadership will probably change a lot.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
