AOC Signals She Won't Support Primary Challenge Against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said she won't support a primary challenge against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries following Zohran Mamdani's win in the New York City's mayoral elections.

Speaking to Axios, AOC said she was "not aware" of the challenge, but noted: "I certainly don't think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now."

The outlet noted that Mamdani also seemed to discourage other Democratic Socialists of America from backing the challenge: "I believe that there are many ways right here in New York City to both deliver on an affordability agenda and take on the authoritarian administration in the White House," he claimed.

Ossé filed the pertinent paperwork to run for Jeffries' district in Brooklyn on Monday. He said he is "exploring" the run because Democratic leadership is "not only failing to effectively fight back against Donald Trump, they have also failed to deliver a vision that we can all believe in."

Jeffries welcomed the challenge, telling press about the development: "Come on in, the water is warm."

It is the latest case of a new guard of the Democratic party challenging more established figures, the most relevant case being Mamdani's victory in New York City. Reacting to the win, AOC said he had to defeat both a "Republican and the old guard of the Democratic party at the same time."

"He was fighting a war on two fronts and not just one. And he still won resoundingly. And I think the message that that sends is that the Democratic Party cannot last much longer by denying the future, by trying to undercut our young, by trying to undercut a next generation of diverse and upcoming Democrats that our actual electorate and voters support," she added.

Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary, getting over 50% of the vote. He delivered a fiery victory speech in which he promised to fight President Donald Trump. Mayor Eric Adams also ran as an independent after winning as a Democrat in 2021, but he dropped out of the race in September and endorsed Cuomo in October.

"If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," Mamdani said in Brooklyn on Tuesday. "And if there's any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power," he added. "So Donald Trump," he noted, "since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up."