A progressive 27-year-old New York Metropolis Council member is contemplating vying towards incumbent Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries within the Democratic congressional main.
Chi Ossé has not but launched his official congressional marketing campaign, solely submitting his paperwork with the Federal Election Fee on Monday. The information comes as youthful, extra left-leaning politicians, like New York Metropolis Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, have appeared to realize traction nationwide.
“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 mentioned in an announcement to HuffPost on Monday.
“These failures are some of the many reasons why I am currently exploring a potential run for New York’s 8th Congressional District,” he added.
Ossé represents New York Metropolis’s thirty sixth District, which incorporates Bedford-Stuyvesant (also referred to as Mattress–Stuy) and North Crown Heights, on the New York Metropolis Council, and started figuring out as a democratic socialist this 12 months.
On social media on Monday, he additionally hinted at a attainable run for Congress.
A person on X requested Ossé: “How can Brooklyn voters take you at your word when just last month you said this? ‘It would take a very dire situation in order for me to even consider spending the rest of my 20s in DC. Just to be clear, I’m not running for Congress.’” Ossé made the comment to Axios final month when rumors emerged about his attainable run.
“Seems like we’re in a dire situation,” he replied to the X person.
Michael M. Santiago by way of Getty Pictures
A spokesperson for Jeffries mentioned he embraces the potential problem from Ossé.
“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,” spokesperson Justin Chermol informed NBC Information in an announcement. “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.”
In a Monday op-ed for Jacobin, a New York-based socialist journal, Ossé mentioned he joined the Democratic Socialists of America to struggle for the working class and defend towards fascism.
He additionally introduced up his early endorsement of Mamdani, who ran a profitable marketing campaign as a democratic socialist.
“I joined DSA earlier this year because the movement surge that carried Zohran into office must grow into a tidal wave,” Ossé wrote. “We [DSA] wholeheartedly believe that the world can look different, that there can be enough to go around, and that we can make that our reality. Our power comes from building solidarity across the working class of every background and showing that when we fight together, we win.”
Notably, The New York Instances reported that Mamdani tried to discourage Ossé from going up towards Jeffries.
Representatives for Jeffries and Mamdani didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark.
