New York City Councilman Chi Ossé announced Friday he is dropping plans to oust House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), citing a lack of support from left-wing colleagues.
Ossé, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, filed to challenge Jeffries in the primary this fall. His campaign is now ending after failing to garner the support of key allies, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, also a DSA member, who recently warned that “right now is not the time to be engaging in that kind of a primary.”
“Exploring the possibility of this run was important,” Ossé said in a statement to Politico this week. “As committed, I will not be launching this campaign without the support of the DSA, and so the exploration process has concluded.”
The revelation comes after Ossé had previously suggested he was “not going anywhere,” even after the DSA voted not to endorse the councilman’s challenge to Jeffries late last month.
The development also highlights the delicate balance Democrats must strike to hold the party together, which is increasingly torn between centrists and more progressive factions. And it signals that there are limits on how far the leading left-wing figures, particularly Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani, are willing to go in challenging certain establishment elders, such as Jeffries, who are attempting to sustain the fragile Democratic coalition.
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Jeffries had previously said he welcomed the idea of a primary opponent.
“Leader Jeffries is fighting hard to lower the high cost of living, address the Republican healthcare crisis, combat corruption, and win back control of the House for the good of the country,” Jeffries spokesman Justin Chermol said last month. “We welcome this primary challenge and look forward to a rigorous debate about the type of serious leadership required to deliver for the people of Brooklyn and the nation.”
