By House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had no answer when asked whether his political influence is slipping after candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated several of his preferred contenders in New York’s Democratic primaries.
During a Capitol Hill press availability, Jeffries was pressed on growing doubts about the strength of his endorsements.
Hakeem Jeffries melts down when asked if he is losing influence in the Democrat party to socialists:
Q: “There seems to be growing concern within the New York delegation that your endorsement doesn’t hold the weight that it once did.”
A: “I don’t have a response to that." pic.twitter.com/cv7gJH6NSg
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 29, 2026
“There seems to be growing concern within the New York delegation that your endorsement doesn’t hold the weight that it once did,” a reporter said.
“I don’t have a response to that,” Jeffries replied.
The question followed a bruising primary night for Jeffries. Mamdani, a democratic socialist elected mayor in 2025, backed a slate of candidates who defeated establishment Democrats supported by the House minority leader.
In New York’s 13th Congressional District, democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, whom Jeffries had endorsed. In the 10th District, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander unseated Rep. Dan Goldman, another Jeffries-backed incumbent. In the 7th District, Claire Valdez also won with Mamdani’s support.
The results will send at least two more self-described democratic socialists from New York to Congress, strengthening the party’s left flank and deepening questions about who now commands influence in one of the country’s most important Democratic strongholds.
Jeffries had tried to minimize the stakes before the primaries, acknowledging that he and Mamdani “agree to strongly disagree” on some endorsements while insisting that “a handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other… aren’t going to reshape who we are as House Democrats.”
Republicans quickly moved to exploit the losses. The National Republican Congressional Committee delivered flowers and a condolence card to Jeffries’ Capitol Hill office. The card read, “With heartfelt sympathy.”
The NRCC offered “consolation” flowers to Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries after Zohran Mamdani’s anti-White communist bloc swept NYC’s primaries.
Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/Pt7twvAh5n
— AF Post (@AFpost) June 24, 2026
“Three losses in one night is tough. We wanted so-called ‘Leader’ Jeffries to know our thoughts are with him, his candidates, and whatever remains of his influence in the Democrat Party,” the NRCC said.
The Democratic Socialists of America also appeared emboldened by the results. Some members reportedly chanted, “You’re next,” a warning that Jeffries himself could eventually face a challenge from the left in his Brooklyn-based district.
Jeffries has spent his leadership tenure trying to hold together a Democratic coalition increasingly divided between institutional liberals and activist progressives. But the New York results showed how difficult that balance has become. In race after race, Mamdani’s endorsement proved more potent than Jeffries’ backing.
That is the larger problem for Democrats heading into the midterms. The party’s national leaders are trying to present themselves as disciplined, pragmatic and focused on winning back the House. Its activist base is pushing harder toward socialism, confrontation and ideological purity.
For now, Jeffries is still the leader of House Democrats. But after last week’s primaries, the question is harder to avoid: whether he is leading the party’s future, or merely watching it move past him.
[Read More: Did NPR Accidentally Reveal A Supreme Retirement?]
