In a dramatic escalation of generational and ideological tensions within the Democratic Party, New York City Council Member Chi Ossé has filed paperwork for a congressional campaign, positioning himself to challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for New York’s 8th Congressional District in the 2026 Democratic primary. The move, which became public on Monday, November 17, 2025, sets up a high-stakes battle between the party’s progressive insurgents and its established leadership at a moment when control of the U.S. House hangs in the balance.
Ossé, who currently represents Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights neighborhoods, is no stranger to breaking barriers. Elected to the City Council in 2021 at just 23, he became both the youngest member and the first Gen Z lawmaker on the Council. His political journey began as an organizer during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and he has since become a prominent figure on the city’s left, aligning closely with democratic socialist causes and leaders such as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
According to Fox News, Ossé’s campaign marks a direct challenge to the Democratic Party’s old guard from its youthful, progressive wing. The timing is significant: Democrats are still reeling from Republican gains in 2024, which handed the GOP control of Congress and left the party scrambling for a unified response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping second-term agenda. The 8th Congressional District, encompassing parts of Brooklyn, has become ground zero for this internal struggle.
Ossé’s decision has not come without controversy—or resistance from his own allies. As POLITICO reports, Mayor-elect Mamdani, a fellow democratic socialist and longtime Ossé supporter, has privately and publicly urged him not to run against Jeffries. “I ran to deliver on an affordability agenda, and that agenda continues to be my focus,” Mamdani said on Tuesday, making clear that his priorities as mayor-elect require a delicate balance between movement politics and pragmatic governance. In fact, Mamdani’s team even rescinded Ossé’s invitation to his election night victory party after Ossé floated the idea of a primary challenge, signaling a need to distance himself from the insurgent campaign.
This tension puts Mamdani in a bind. Supporting Ossé could jeopardize fragile relationships with mainstream Democrats and risk essential support from power brokers in Albany and Washington. On the other hand, failing to back his ally might alienate the progressive base that powered his own rise. “It’s a real pain in the ass for them,” Democratic consultant Chris Coffey told POLITICO, referring to Mamdani’s predicament. The mayor-elect’s dilemma is emblematic of broader rifts within the Democratic Party, as left-leaning groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) debate whether to prioritize organizing for policy gains or invest resources in challenging entrenched incumbents.
Ossé, for his part, has not yet released an official statement announcing his candidacy. However, he has made his intentions clear in public comments and on social media. Responding to criticism that just last month he had ruled out a congressional run—stating, “It would take a very dire situation in order for me to even consider spending the rest of my 20s in DC. Just to be clear, I’m not running for Congress”—Ossé wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, “it seems like we’re in a dire situation.” In a statement to POLITICO, he elaborated: “The Democratic Party’s leadership is not only failing to effectively fight back against Donald Trump, they have also failed to deliver a vision that we can all believe in. These failures are some of the many reasons why I am currently exploring a potential run for New York’s 8th Congressional District.”
The response from national progressive groups has been mixed. While Ossé is scheduled to speak at a DSA endorsement forum on Wednesday—a nod that could provide him with a vital army of volunteers—some within the organization remain skeptical about his commitment, citing his relatively recent membership. Meanwhile, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a left-leaning national PAC that endorsed Mamdani, has come out against Ossé’s challenge. “Every progressive, especially in New York, should be doing everything they can to help Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani be successful in passing and implementing his affordability agenda,” said Adam Green, the group’s co-founder. “Especially at this moment, just after Mamdani’s big victory and House Democrats holding firm during the shutdown fight, it is not the right moment to launch a primary challenge to Hakeem Jeffries.”
Jeffries, the incumbent, is widely regarded as a popular and effective leader in his district. A private poll conducted in September and reported by City & State showed Jeffries with a commanding 50-point lead over Ossé, though observers note that insurgent campaigns can build momentum quickly, as Mamdani’s own mayoral campaign did. Jeffries’ office, for its part, has so far declined to engage directly with the challenge. “Leader Jeffries is focused on addressing the crushing Republican healthcare crisis, combating Donald Trump’s scheme to gerrymander congressional maps and leading the effort to take back the House of Representatives in 2026,” spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement.
The stakes for both the local district and the national party are enormous. Should Democrats regain the House in 2026, Jeffries is in line to become Speaker, a prospect that weighs heavily on the minds of party strategists and activists alike. As Jon Paul Lupo, a Democratic consultant, put it to POLITICO, “The much more important thing in 2026 is do Democrats control the House. That will have a massive impact on what Democrats can do and what the next two years of [Mamdani’s] mayoralty will look like.”
The current wave of progressive primary challenges isn’t limited to Ossé. Council Member Alexa Avilés, another democratic socialist, is mounting a primary bid against Rep. Dan Goldman, a moderate Democrat aligned with Jeffries. Mamdani has not publicly endorsed either Avilés or her potential rival, outgoing City Comptroller Brad Lander, though reports indicate he may privately support Lander. These races underscore the broader struggle between progressive insurgents and establishment Democrats, a dynamic playing out not just in New York but in party contests across the country.
For now, Ossé’s campaign committee—filed through Katz Compliance—positions him as a serious contender, even as he stops short of a formal announcement. The coming months will test whether the energy of New York’s progressive movement can translate into electoral gains against one of the party’s most prominent national figures, or whether the establishment will hold firm in the face of generational change. One thing is certain: the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party in Brooklyn is just getting started.
