Hakeem Jeffries rejects Zohran Mamdani as face of the future Democratic Party

WASHINGTON, DC: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made it clear on Sunday, November 2, that the Democratic Party’s future was with mainstream House Democrats, and not with candidates like the New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist.

“No, I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall, as far as we’re concerned, relative to the House Democratic Caucus and Members who are doing great work all across the country,” Jeffries said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union’.

Hakeem Jeffries says focus is on the GOP’s lack of results

Jeffries, the New York congressman, who represents Brooklyn and Queens, had endorsed Mamdani less than two weeks before election day after months of silence following the Democratic primary.

But on Sunday, Jeffries avoided questions about whether Mamdani’s rise marked a change in the party’s ideology.

Jeffries insisted that he wasn’t worried about Republicans using Mamdani’s brand of democratic socialism to paint Democrats as too far left.

He said that the message they are focused on delivering was: “Donald Trump and Republicans have gone way too far and have failed to deliver anything meaningful for the American people."

Democrats push back on leftward shift narrative

In a separate interview with PBS in July, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin rejected the notion that Mamdani’s popularity showed the leftward shift of the party.

"We have conservative-Democrats, we have centrist-Democrats, we have labor-progressives like me, and we have this new brand of Democrat which is the leftists," Martin said.

"We win by bringing people into that coalition and at the end of the day, for me, that's the type of party we're going to lead. We are a big tent party," he concluded.

His remarks echoed efforts by party leaders to present a unified message after a year of electoral setbacks and internal divisions.

Gavin Newsom says Democrats are regaining momentum

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom struck an optimistic tone in a separate NBC interview, saying that the Democratic brand is recovering after one of its toughest years in decades.

“Four months ago, if you asked me that question, I would have been struggling to find positive signs of the party. I feel it’s a completely different moment,” Newsom said.

He cited Tuesday’s elections, including California’s 'Proposition 50' vote, the New York City mayoral race, and gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey as evidence that Democrats are regaining momentum.

“I feel like we’re on the precipice of a remarkable moment on Nov 4,” Newsom said.

“We’ve got leaders now with a united front and a message that’s breaking through on health care, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, that give me real confidence that the Democratic Party is on its ascendancy,” he stated.

Newsom said Democrats must project resolve and clarity after a bruising election cycle that saw the party lose both chambers of Congress and the presidency.