Raphael Warnock breaks with progressives as DSA warns Jeffries with 'you're next' chants
Sen. Warnock on Democratic Socialists' victories: "Look, I don't believe in abolishing the police. You can't have security without police. You don't have a country without borders. But this debate will go on. Black Americans are not a monolith. They will respond as they are… pic.twitter.com/PfXNdGHmwy
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) June 28, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic infighting escalated after Sen Raphael Warnock distanced himself from the party’s progressive wing following its “you’re next” warning aimed at Hakeem Jeffries.
Democratic socialists chanted “you’re next” at the victory celebration this week in a message to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and the Democratic establishment.
They were not threatening oligarchs or billionaires, but Jeffries, implying that he would be the next to lose his House seat to a socialist candidate.
Raphael Warnock addresses DSA chants on CNN
After playing the clip of the DSA members chanting while at a bar during the New York primary election on Tuesday, June 23, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Raphael Warnock what he thought about the chants.
“You know, as I’ve said, we have robust and rambunctious arguments about the direction of the party, but the focus is on the concerns of ordinary people,” Warnock replied.
“Look, I don’t believe in abolishing the police. You can’t have security without police. You don’t have a country without borders. But this debate will go on,” he said.
He added that Black Americans “are not a monolith. They will respond as they are hearing candidates, center their concerns.”
Tapper noted that the crowd making the chants was mostly white, clubbing it with the argument that if Democrats reclaim the lower chamber, Hakeem Jeffries could become the first Black House speaker in the US history.
Warnock criticizes politics centered on politicians
“I think part of the problem with politics, quite frankly, in our country, is that we made the politics about the politicians,” Warnock continued.
“Which candidate is in, who’s out, who’s up, who’s down, what’s going to happen to this politician come November? I’m worried about what’s going to happen to ordinary people who can’t afford their lives right now,” he added.
Warnock further asserted that neither party had delivered on Americans’ concerns over the cost of living. He urged Democrats to “center the people” and hold “Donald Trump and his henchmen accountable.”
Three socialist candidates backed by Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member, won their primaries.
State Assemblywoman Claire Valdez of the DSA won the primary to succeed retiring Rep Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) in the 7th District, and Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep Dan Goldman (D-NY) in the 10th District.
Hakeem Jeffries calls Trump and MAGA the common enemy
Last week, Hakeem Jeffries asked Democrats to remember that the "enemy is Donald Trump and MAGA extremism" once the midterms were over.
“And so, listen. I think at the end of the day, individual congressional districts, the beauty of it, all are made up by a diverse group of people who have a diverse set of perspectives on a wide variety of issues,” he told MS NOW’s Jen Psaki on Wednesday, June 24.
