House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is likely to face a primary challenge in his Brooklyn-based district from New York City Councilman Chi Ossé, who describes himself as a socialist.
The primary challenge is one of the first political ripple effects of Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York mayoral race, but it’s also shining a light on discontent from the far-Left over how best to tackle the Trump administration and the Republican-majority Congress.
“Socialism offers not just a structural strength to resist fascism but also a positive vision worth fighting for,” the councilman wrote in a recent piece for Jacobin. “That’s why Zohran won this November. During a bleak winter for national politics, his campaign became a source of hope, and I became a vigorous, early supporter. I was the first city council member to publicly endorse Zohran.”
Although Ossé’s campaign has not officially launched, Federal Election Commission paperwork shows that he filed to run on Monday. The New York Times reported that Mamdani’s team is trying to discourage Ossé from running for the seat, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “I certainly don’t think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now,” according to Axios.
Ossé, 27, joined the New York City Council in 2021 at age 23, according to the Council’s website. He has been a prominent advocate for housing policy reform and an outspoken critic of federal immigration enforcement operations in the city.
“ICE GTFO of NYC,” he posted on October 21.
According to a 2021 campaign guide from Marathon Strategies, Ossé has also proposed “abolishing cash bail.” In addition, he pitched a “wealth tax” in a 2020 interview with Paper Magazine.
“We welcome this primary challenge and look forward to a rigorous debate about the type of serious leadership required to deliver for the people,” a Jeffries spokesperson said, according to The Grio.
The seat is in a deeply blue district, where Jeffries won more than 75% of the vote in the 2024 general election.
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