NEW YORK — City Council Member Chi Ossé ended his exploratory bid Friday to challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America declined to recommend endorsing him, stalling the Hakeem Jeffries primary effort. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani pushed allies to keep their political oxygen on a local affordability agenda — not a high-profile intraparty clash with Democrats’ top House leader, Dec. 5, 2025.
What the NYC-DSA vote means for the Hakeem Jeffries primary
The New York City Democratic Socialists of America, commonly known as NYC-DSA, didn’t just “stay neutral.” It held a vote — and it was close. In an online ballot among members of the group’s Electoral Working Group, 626 voted against recommending an endorsement for Ossé, 555 supported it and 24 abstained, according to City & State New York’s report on the results. The group’s organizing committee told members it “does not make a recommendation for endorsement at this time,” signaling that the path to an official blessing had narrowed sharply.
Why AOC and Mamdani hit the brakes
Ocasio-Cortez, who rose to prominence by defeating a powerful incumbent Democrat, offered a blunt warning about taking a swing at party leadership now. “I certainly don’t think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now,” she told Axios.
Mamdani, preparing to take office in January, argued it was a question of priorities — and capacity. “I think that right now is not the time to be engaging in that kind of a primary,” he said. “I think the focus should be on delivering on this affordability agenda,” Newsweek reported. The message, echoed in different ways by both leaders: Don’t burn the movement’s best organizing months on a Washington power struggle when the next City Hall term is about to begin.
Jeffries’ team took the off-ramp as well. Spokesperson Justin Chermol said Jeffries is “laser-focused” on lowering living costs, protecting health care and serving the Brooklyn communities in his district, according to Spectrum News. Ossé said he remains committed to the organization — but in practical terms, the immediate Hakeem Jeffries primary push is paused without a challenger willing to proceed without a movement-wide green light.
Continuity: New York primaries can rewrite leadership
The split inside the left is rooted in recent history. In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez shocked the political world by defeating Rep. Joe Crowley — then a member of House Democratic leadership — as Time recounted in its post-election analysis. Jeffries’ ascent followed the establishment script: House Democrats elected him their leader in 2022, making him the first Black American to hold a top leadership position in the House or Senate, Reuters reported at the time.
That’s the crosscurrent now. A Hakeem Jeffries primary would instantly become a national proxy fight over the party’s direction — but NYC-DSA is also staring down a test of whether it can translate campaign momentum into governing power. For now, the would-be challenger is out, the socialist organization is divided, and the biggest fight has been deferred.
