House Democrats' anti-Jeffries caucus isn't done growing

[Celerity]

Democratic primaries this summer could elevate another crop of incoming House members who have refused to commit to voting for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as speaker.

https://www.axios.com/2026/07/08/democrats-jeffries-primaries-speaker-vote-dsa


House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the U.S. Capitol on June 24. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Why it matters: This growing bloc of Jeffries skeptics could create real headaches for the Democratic leader as he attempts to form a united front to take on the Trump administration. Jeffries' colleagues — left and center — widely expect him to become speaker if Democrats win the majority, noting that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) faced similar rancor in 2018 and still secured the gavel. There is also no clear alternative to Jeffries, with House Democrats and candidates telling Axios there have been no indications anyone is preparing to challenge him. But even if this likely cohort of rebellious first-years does acquiesce to Jeffries on Jan. 3, they are not planning to make his tenure as speaker an easy one.

State of play: Primaries in the spring and early summer have elevated several high-profile Democratic Socialists of America members who won't commit to voting for Jeffries, including Darializa Avila-Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York and Adam Hamawy in New Jersey. Melat Kiros, who unseated Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) last week, told Axios she "will not vote for any Democrat for a leadership position if they take corporate PAC money," which would apply to Jeffries. Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, the Democratic nominee in a safely blue U.S. House seat in Philadelphia, told Axios in an interview that Jeffries "supported a lot of the folks who my endorsees beat, and who made a lot of rhetoric that I found problematic."

What's next: The Michigan and Missouri primaries on Aug. 4 will determine whether the ranks of Jeffries skeptics grow even further. Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), who is running for her old seat and previously voted for Jeffries on 19 speaker ballots in 2023, declined to commit to doing so in 2027 in an interview with Axios last week. William Lawrence, a progressive candidate in Michigan's 7th District, said in an interview he looks forward to "voting for a Democratic speaker," but "will have to see how it all shakes out. I hope to have an alternative to Jeffries to vote for."

Zoom in: Several other candidates with August or September primaries told Axios last fall they either won't commit to Jeffries or are outright opposed to him: Donavan McKinney of Michigan, Luke Bronin of Connecticut, Heath Howard of New Hampshire and Patrick Roath of Massachusetts. Angela Gonzales-Torres and Mai Vang, both of whom are facing runoffs in California with Democratic incumbents in November, are also in the Jeffries-skeptic column. Elijah Manley, running in Florida's 20th District, has changed his tune after previously opposing Jeffries. He told us last week the Democratic leader "will work with progressives to be the type of wartime leader that we need."

What they're saying: .........

snip

[dem4decades]

1. I quit, would they have refused to commit to back Pelosi

Back in the day? A fractured Democratic party leads to a powerful Republican one.

[Celerity]

2. 20 Dems (all were centrists or conservadems) refused to vote for Pelosi as Speaker her last 2 terms as Speaker.

(15 in 2019, 5 in 2021)

Here are the 15 Democrats who didn’t vote for Pelosi as speaker (2019)

https://rollcall.com/2019/01/03/here-are-the-15-democrats-who-didnt-vote-for-pelosi-as-speaker/

Rep. Anthony Brindisi of New York voted for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee voted “present.”

Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado voted for Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

Rep. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina voted for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos of Illinois.

Rep. Jared Golden of Maine also voted for Bustos.

Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin voted for Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis.

Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania voted for Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III.

Rep. Ben McAdams of Utah voted for Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy.

Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York voted for 2018 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams.

Rep. Max Rose of New York voted for Duckworth.

Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon voted for Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcia L. Fudge.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey voted for Bustos.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan voted “present.”

Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia voted for Bustos.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey voted “present.”

Five centrist Democrats oppose Pelosi for Speaker in tight vote (2021)

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/532452-five-centrist-democrats-oppose-pelosi-for-speaker-in-tight-vote/

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) cast his Speaker vote for Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a former House member turned senator who was considered a potential running mate for President-elect Joe Biden last year. Golden voted two years ago for Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who was the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the time.

Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), meanwhile, voted for House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is considered a rising star in the caucus ranks. Lamb previously cast his vote for Speaker in 2019 for former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), who was unsuccessful in his primary challenge last year against Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Three additional Democrats voted “present”:

Reps. Mikie Sherrill (N.J.),

Elissa Slotkin (Mich.)

and

Abigail Spanberger (Va.).

Slotkin similarly voted “present” in 2019, while Spanberger and Sherrill had voted for Bustos.

[dem4decades]

3. Yet they all supported her when she needed their votes to pass legislation.

[Celerity]

4. No they did not. Multiple centrist and conservative Dems blocked vast and profoundly important swathes of Biden's agenda

For example all you need to look at is the 84 per cent gutting of Biden's 2 huge infrastructure bills.

Biden's new spend frameworks for the 2 infrastructure bills (physical and human) totaled up to $6.1 trillion, yet at the end of the day, due to many of the No Labels Problem Solvers and Blue Dogs in the House and then their allies Manchin and Sinema in the Senate smashing both bills up, we ended up only passing a total combined new spend of only $987 billion in toto (and that was for a 10 year spending period for large parts of the bills), an 84 percent gutting (as mentioned above).

So many vital programmes either entirely ripped out or dramatically slashed. Programmes and spending that would have so so helped us win in 2024.