House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) appears to be gaining a primary challenger: a progressive ally of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani who may be the Democratic leader’s first real competition in over a decade.
Chi Ossé, 27, a New York City Council member, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Monday for “Chi Ossé for Congress” in New York’s Eighth Congressional District. Ossé, who is to the left of Jeffries politically, is one of many progressive challengers looking toward the 2026 midterm elections to oust establishment incumbents and break up the status quo on Capitol Hill.
Jeffries, 54, hasn’t faced a competitive Democratic primary since 2012, when he first won office to represent Brooklyn. Historically, Democratic leadership has discouraged progressive challengers from seeking to oust incumbents, given that it devotes time and resources to protecting a sitting lawmaker against their own party while also having to combat Republicans in the general election.
News of Ossé’s plans to challenge Jeffries was revealed last week, during which the House minority leader and other Democrats were in the spotlight for the government shutdown, which lasted a record-breaking 43 days.
The New York City councilman had told the New York Times he had been “hearing a lot of concern about Democratic Party leadership.” But he did not say at the time whether he would challenge Jeffries.
“It’s a big part of why I worked so hard to get Zohran elected and defeat the establishment’s champion, [former Democratic New York Gov.] Andrew Cuomo,” he told the outlet at the time. “Right now, I’m focused on serving my constituents and guaranteeing the success of Zohran’s agenda at City Hall.”
Ossé’s anticipated campaign launch also comes after progressives achieved a significant victory with Mamdani’s win in New York City. The socialist has become a boogeyman for Democrats as Republicans seek to tie him to every Democratic candidate and lawmaker.
Like Mamdani, Ossé is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has similar campaign tactics. He took office in 2022 for his Brooklyn-based district.
Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran New York political strategist, told the Washington Examiner that Ossé is going to try to “ride the wave” of Mamdani’s victory. Though Ossé is an “inexperienced” councilman, Jeffries faces the issue that a significant amount of his voters supported Mamdani in the mayoral race.
“So, it’s going to be a tough race,” Sheinkopf said.
Will Ossé win? Sheinkopf thinks likely not. An internal poll taken a month ago found Jeffries with a 74% favorability rating. In a head-to-head matchup, Jeffries defeated Ossé 72% to 21%. But a progressive wave is spreading across the country, the strategist said, pointing to a mayoral race in Seattle.
“It’s not impossible,” Sheinkopf said of Ossé’s chances. “The issue with losing Hakeem and his seniority is, is that something New York wants to risk? And that’s going to be a condition that New York is going to have to face constantly.”
Taking out a member of leadership is a rare moment in elections. The last time a member of the House Democratic leadership team lost was in 2022, when former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney lost to Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY).
Defeating an incumbent of the same party is a bit more common in recent years. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a shocking upset in 2018. Last year, Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) were ousted in their respective primaries by more centrist challengers.
Those losses came down largely to a swell of funds from pro-Israel groups in the aftermath of the Hamas-Israel conflict. Pro-Israel organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee funneled significant money to oust progressives such as Bowman and Bush.
Now, Sheinkopf said the real attack of the 2026 midterm elections will be the opposite: progressive candidates coming after pro-Israel incumbents such as Jeffries or Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY).
“The message is that Israel is not the place to put your reputation, and that there is a movement by younger people to wipe out the leadership, no matter the age of leadership. This is about competition for power,” the strategist said.
He suggested that, to win a possible primary fight against Ossé, Jeffries should stick to local issues.
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“Did you bring home X, did you bring home Y?” Sheinkopf said. “Did you stand up for people on Social Security, on Medicare and Medicaid? OK, did you fight to protect healthcare for New Yorkers? And did you take on [President Donald] Trump? Those are the things Hakeem Jeffries is going to have to answer for and about, and he did all those things.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Jeffries and Ossé for comment.