After spending days fielding questions about the New York City democratic socialists who won their House primaries, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Saturday congratulated them — even the two who handily defeated incumbents Jeffries had backed.

“Congratulations to our newest members of the NYC congressional delegation. From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different but the work is the same,” the New York Democrat wrote in a post on X. “We must decisively address the affordability crisis and crush far-right extremism!”

Jeffries also applauded other Democrats who won their House primaries on Saturday. But his post about New York City’s candidates was notable; three of four of them are Democratic Socialists of America candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Their wins on Tuesday fueled tensions between the party establishment and its left-wing faction — and raised questions about Jeffries’ political future.

In New York’s 10th congressional district, former City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated the Jeffries-endorsed Rep. Dan Goldman. In the 13th district, Darializa Avila Chevalier pulled off a stunning victory over Rep. Adriano Espaillat, whom Jeffries also backed. State Assembly member Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who had the endorsement of outgoing Rep. Nydia Velazquez in the 7th district.

Jeffries is not particularly popular among the left. At Valdez’s election night watch party, jubilant supporters booed and chanted “you’re next!” when Jeffries appeared on the screen.

Neither Chevalier nor Valdez has committed to backing Jeffries for House speaker if Democrats win control of the chamber in November, in contrast to Lander, who has said he would. When asked if she would support Jeffries in an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Chevalier said: “That’s a conversation that I’ll be having with my coalition, with my community to make sure that we are coming to a decision about what is best for the people here in New York 13.”

Jeffries’ comments about the trio have been measured since Tuesday’s primaries. This week, when asked on CNBC about the taunting chants, Jeffries pointed to President Donald Trump.

“I’m happy to talk about primary elections in one of the bluest cities in the country. At the end of the day, listen, our focus is going to be on ending this national nightmare in this country that America is suffering: a reckless and costly war of choice that skyrocketed gas prices. The failure to lower costs was Donald Trump’s promise that he would do and a whole host of other challenges,” he replied.

Meanwhile, the DSA is hoping its victories in New York City can be replicated elsewhere. In Colorado, Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist running against incumbent Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, announced endorsements from Valdez and Chevalier on Saturday.

Hunter Woodall contributed to this report.

The post Jeffries congratulates NYC democratic socialists on their House primary wins appeared first on MS NOW.

Author: Source Author

From MS Now.