Dems Won’t Commit to Backing Hakeem Jeffries

Dozens of Democratic candidates competing for U.S. House seats around the country told Axios that they would not support House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for party leader or were not ready to say they would vote for him.

The site said this week that the answers show that some Democrats are becoming more worried about the party’s present leadership as the 2026 election season approaches.

Hakeem Jeffries has had the full backing of his caucus since he became the Democratic leader in 2022. However, that unity may be put to the test in the next Congress as grassroots activists, especially those on the left side of the party, become more and more frustrated.

Progressives have been criticizing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) a lot this year, but Axios says that Jeffries is also becoming a target of their anger.

Axios got in touch with almost every Democrat running for a U.S. House seat that the party thinks it might be able to win in 2026. They got answers from 113 candidates through phone interviews or written statements.

Twenty of the people who were asked stated they would not vote for Hakeem Jeffries as speaker or minority leader. Five others said they were likely to vote against him. Fifty-seven candidates said they would not endorse Jeffries, saying it was too early to decide or citing worries about his ideology, strategy, messaging, or leadership style.