Chi Ossé to Run Against Hakeem Jeffries in New York

Brooklyn City Council member Chi Ossé filed paperwork on Monday to potentially challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Ossé, who represents Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant, had been rumored to make a run for the Brooklyn congressman's seat for several weeks. Centrist Democrats, including Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer, recently have been criticized for not reaching the agreement intended to safeguard health care for millions under Obamacare during the historic government shutdown.

Since joining the City Council in 2022, Ossé, 27, is the only Gen Z politician on the City Council, the youngest member to be elected in New York history.

"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," Ossé said in a statement. "These failures are some of the many reasons why I am currently exploring a potential run."

Jeffries represents the 8th Congressional District, which covers Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie, Marine Park and Gravesend, and is serving his seventh term. He has been the de facto spokesperson for the Democratic Party for several years, conducting almost daily press briefings to attack President Donald Trump and his policies. 

Brooklyn voters will now have a choice between the two politicians in the June 2026 primary. 

"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," Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for Jeffries, said in a statement. "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."