Hakeem Jeffries warns progressives of 'painful lesson' if challenged

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is warning the progressive wing of his party, particularly those aligned with Zohran Mamdani, the party’s new nominee for the New York City mayoral race, that they will learn a “painful lesson” should he face any primary challenges.

A self-described Democratic socialist, Mamdani shook the Democratic Party with his upset victory last month, sparking panic among wealthy Wall Street financiers, conservatives and moderate Democrats with his progressive agenda. And now, a number of Mamdani supporters are considering launching primary challenges to New York’s Democratic congressional delegation, CNN reported Wednesday.

Speaking with CNN, Jeffries’ senior adviser Andre Richardson dared progressives to launch a primary challenge against the top House Democrat, and took a dig at the racial makeup of Mamdani’s base as being disproportionately white.

“Leader Hakeem Jeffries is focused on taking back the House from the MAGA extremists who just ripped health care away from millions of Americans,” Richardson told CNN. “However, if Team Gentrification wants a primary fight, our response will be forceful and unrelenting. We will teach them and all of their incumbents a painful lesson on June 23, 2026.”

Mamdani overperformed with white voters compared with his primary competitor in the race Andrew Cuomo, former New York governor who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations. Nearly half of Mamdani’s support “came out of white, native-born neighborhoods,” according to John Mollenkoph, CUNY Graduate Center director of the Center for Urban Research, told Politico.

Jeffries has frequently been pegged by the progressive wing of the party as being too moderate, citing his past record of voting to override union objections by imposing a contract on rail workers in 2022, his lack of vocal support for universal health care, and his overt support of Israel amid the country’s ongoing siege in Gaza that has left at least 57,500 dead, the majority of them women and children.

However, the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), say launching a primary challenge against Jeffries is not the organization’s top priority at the moment.

“His leadership has left a vacuum that organizations like DSA are filling,” said Gustavo Gordillo, DSA New York chapter co-chair, speaking with CNN. “I think that is more important right now. To me, it often seems like he is the one picking the fight with the left, and I think he should focus on fighting the right.”