Democrats projected to win House, putting Hakeem Jeffries in line to be first Black speaker
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The gist
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries won reelection with 79.3% as Democrats were projected to take the House.
He would be the first Black speaker, but still needs a formal House vote.
Background
Hakeem Jeffries is the House minority leader and Democratic representative for New York's 8th District, a Brooklyn native, 56, and a former corporate lawyer. He has held the seat since 2013, and in January 2023 became the top House Democrat after Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker, stepped out of the role and anointed him as her successor. Soon after he arrived in the House, a bloc of Black Democrats began meeting over dinner to plan for him to replace Pelosi and become the first Black speaker. Democrats are now projected to regain House control, positioning him to replace Republican Speaker Mike Johnson.
How it unfolded
- Jan 3, 2013Jeffries begins representing New York's Eighth Congressional District in the House.
- 2015Congressional leaders appoint him Whip for the Congressional Black Caucus and a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
- Jan 2023He becomes the top House Democrat and minority leader after Nancy Pelosi steps out of the seat.
- Nov 17, 2025Brooklyn City Council Member Chi Ossé files to run against Jeffries in NY-8.
- Jun 23, 2026At Claire Valdez's Brooklyn election-night victory party, the crowd boos when Jeffries appears on a screen and cries "You're next."
- Oct 19, 2026Jeffries tells News 12 he spoke on the House floor for eight hours and 44 minutes opposing the Republican "One Big, Ugly Bill."
- Oct 27, 2026He is the featured guest at an early-voting rally for Rep. Tom Suozzi in Westbury; four days earlier he was with Rep. Laura Gillen at a closed-door breakfast with local religious leaders.
- Nov 3, 2026Jeffries is projected to win reelection over Republican Lewis Mizrahi with 79.3% of the vote, per unofficial city Board of Elections results; Democrats are projected to regain the House.
Who’s saying what
- Jeffries
- He says the American people are rightly frustrated and want disruption and dramatic change, and that Democrats will relentlessly focus on an affordability agenda covering groceries, gas, housing and healthcare.
- Party
- Rep. Beatty says Jeffries "walks in as someone who just looks like he's just fearless," and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie calls him one of the best communicators he has seen in 26 years in the Legislature.
- Caution
- Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen say addressing problems Americans face should not lose priority to impeachments or extended standoffs over investigations.
- Analysts
- Georgetown congressional expert Joshua Huder says it is "not clear if the high-profile political fights Democrats will pursue will allow enough space for major policy achievements."
- Critics
- Critics on the left see Jeffries as too deferential to Israel supporters and criticize him for taking his name off Medicare for All after co-sponsoring it for years; some in his party privately criticize him for being overly hesitant.
Still unverified
Nonpartisan analysts said it is unclear to what extent Jeffries and his lieutenants could pursue promised "accountability" investigations while still accomplishing bipartisan legislation. The speakership is not yet a guarantee: Jeffries still needs to win over incoming Democratic socialists and must win a formal House vote.