Jeffries Losing Support, Dozens of Dems Won’t Commit To Backing Him

Axios was informed by dozens of Democratic candidates vying for U.S. House seats around the country that they were either unwilling to vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as party leader or were not ready to do so.

According to the publication this week, the comments point to rising disquiet about the Democratic Party’s current leadership in some quarters as the 2026 election cycle draws near.

Hakeem Jeffries has been unopposed in his caucus since taking over as Democratic leader in 2022.

However, growing dissatisfaction among grassroots activists, especially on the left side of the party, may put that unity to the test at the upcoming Congress.

Although progressive circles have largely criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) this year, Axios pointed out that Jeffries is also quickly becoming a target of discontent.

Nearly every Democrat vying for a U.S. House seat thought to be within the party’s grasp in 2026 was contacted by Axios, which obtained written or phone answers from 113 candidates.

Twenty respondents said they would not support Hakeem Jeffries as speaker or minority leader, and five more said they would probably vote against him.

Fifty-seven candidates said it was too soon to make a decision or that they had issues about Jeffries’ leadership style, strategy, ideology, or messaging.

According to the publication, only 24 respondents said they would unquestionably support Jeffries, and seven more stated they were likely to do so.

His office, however, refuted the claim that he has lost support.

According to Jeffries spokesperson Justin Chermol, “Leader Jeffries is focused on fighting Donald Trump, ending the Republican shutdown of the federal government, and addressing the devastating GOP health care crisis,” Axios reported.

While numerous front-runners in crucial battleground contests choose not to answer Axios’ questions, many of the Democrats who are voicing suspicion toward Hakeem Jeffries are political outsiders or longshot candidates.

Nevertheless, a few of Jeffries’ detractors and ambivalent contenders have legitimate routes to congressional seats.

Two prominent candidates in the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Daniel Biss and Kat Abughazaleh, are among them; however, neither of them went so far as to promise to back Jeffries.

Luke Bronin, Donavan McKinney, Mai Vang, Saikat Chakrabarti, and Patrick Roath are among the other well-known opponents who have also declined to endorse him.

Both are attempting to unseat long-serving Democratic incumbents with well-funded campaigns.

“I think we need to have a new type of leadership that’s … going to fight back significantly harder against the Trump administration,” New Hampshire state representative Heath Howard, who is vying for an open U.S. House seat, told Axios about the Democratic leader.

Meanwhile, Abughazaleh told Axios that the left should use “our leverage to demand progressive change” and that she will back a leader who is “taking actual action against this administration.”

“There must be improvement, without a doubt,” Amanda Edwards, a former Houston city council member who is currently a candidate in a Texas special election, told the publication.

Firefighter Harry Jarin, who is running as a primary challenger to former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), told Axios: “Democratic leadership is not matching the base’s outrage at the moment. and something will need to change in some way.

Jeffries’ unwillingness to support socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City was a common theme among those who chose not to support him; left-wing members of Congress have also grown frustrated with this decision.

Jacob Lawrence, who is running against Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), said, “His refusal to endorse Zohran makes me nervous that, if I were to become the nominee in my race, he and the party would not support me.”

When asked if he would back Jeffries, Chakrabarti said, “What did Hakeem say about supporting Zohran? “I’ll speak with him and see where it takes us.”