Jeffries wins reelection in New York as he eyes Speakership

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is projected to sail to victory in New York City on Tuesday, easily beating back a symbolic challenge from Lewis Mizrahi, a Republican data analyst who never stood a chance in the deep-blue Brooklyn district, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Jeffries has been the top House Democrat since 2023, when Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stepped out of that seat to clear the way for a younger generation of party leaders. And if Democrats flip control of the chamber in this year’s midterms, Jeffries — the first Black lawmaker to lead either party in Congress — is expected to make history again by becoming the country’s first Black Speaker.

From that perch, Jeffries has promised to move an ambitious legislative agenda through the lower chamber, including bills to reverse GOP Medicaid cuts, curb the high cost of living, and end the war in Iran. Those proposals have no chance of becoming law with President Trump in the White House, but they will provide Democrats with campaign ammunition heading into the 2028 presidential election.

Jeffries is also vowing to provide a check on the Trump administration by launching a host of investigations into the president and his inner circle, including probes into Trump’s efforts to use the office to prosecute political enemies and pardon loyalists convicted of violent crimes. That potentially sets the stage for explosive clashes between the House and White House over the next two years.

Jeffries will have his challenges. The House caucus is a diverse group, and party leaders will be forced to balance between the sometimes competing interests of centrist lawmakers from battleground districts and liberal rabble-rousers fighting for far-left policies, including an incoming group affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Indeed, Jeffries’s greatest challenge this midterm cycle was not from Republicans, but from liberal Democrats who think he’s been too gentle in confronting Trump through the first half of the president’s second term.

Last year, Chi Ossé, a young member of the New York City Council and a member of the DSA, mulled a primary challenge against Jeffries for that reason. Ossé was encouraged by the success of Zohran Mamdani, another DSA member who won the race for New York City mayor in November 2025.

Members of New York’s DSA, however, declined to endorse Ossé in the race, and he quickly dropped his bid, clearing the way for Jeffries to win an eighth term without an internal challenge.