According to a Fox News report, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are actively considering campaigns against Jeffries, as well as Representatives Ritchie Torres, Jerry Nadler, Dan Goldman, and Yvette Clarke in next year’s primaries.
But Jeffries’ camp is already firing back. A senior political advisor to the House Democratic leader promised a “forceful and unrelenting” response to any insurgent campaign that attempts to unseat him.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens and member of DSA, stunned political observers in June with his landslide win in the Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates. His victory positions him to potentially become New York City’s first Muslim mayor—and signals a deepening ideological rift within the Democratic Party.
DSA celebrated Mamdani’s victory as a watershed moment.
“This movement is bigger than one person, election, city, or organization,” the organization said in a post-primary statement. “We encourage all people inspired by the Zohran campaign to join their local DSA or YDSA chapter and get involved so we can continue to fight alongside Zohran and DSA elected officials across the country.”
Now, with momentum on their side, DSA leaders are exploring further primary battles across the city, targeting established Democratic figures they view as out of step with the party’s increasingly progressive base.
Jeffries, who succeeded Nancy Pelosi as the House Democratic leader in 2023, has become a frequent target of far-left criticism, with detractors labeling him a corporate-friendly moderate.
“His leadership has left a vacuum that organizations like DSA are filling,” said Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of NYC DSA, in a recent CNN interview.
State Senator Jabari Brisport, a DSA member who represents parts of Brooklyn overlapping with Jeffries’ district, echoed that sentiment.
“Hakeem Jeffries is rapidly growing out of touch with an insurgent and growing progressive base within his own district,” Brisport told Fox News.
In response, Jeffries advisor and Democratic strategist Andre Richardson pointed to Trump’s aggressive second-term agenda and said Jeffries remains focused on “taking back the House from the MAGA extremists who just ripped health care away from millions of Americans.”
Richardson also issued a pointed warning to Mamdani’s allies.
“If Team Gentrification wants a primary fight, our response will be forceful and unrelenting,” he told CNN. “We will teach them and all of their incumbents a painful lesson on June 23, 2026.”
The rising tension comes as local Democrats face growing pressure to endorse Mamdani ahead of the general election. Many fear that withholding support could make them the next targets of DSA-backed challenges. Mamdani will face Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in November, while Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams will appear on minor party lines, according to the New York Post.
Brooklyn Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest, a DSA member whose district overlaps with Jeffries’, took to X to challenge his team’s threats.
“Weird threat to make, since Hakeem already went after @JabariBrisport and I. How’d that go for him, again?” she wrote.
Forrest followed up by citing her 2022 primary win (67.2%) and Brisport’s (70.4%) as proof that progressive challengers can—and do—prevail.
“If the leader wants another public beatdown, he knows where to find me,” she added.