Overview
- At a closed NYC-DSA meeting on Nov. 19, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani pressed members to vote against endorsing City Council member Chi Ossé’s possible 2026 challenge to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
- The NYC-DSA Electoral Working Group is holding a vote through Saturday on whether to back Ossé, whose run is not formally launched.
- Mamdani, a dues-paying DSA member, said backing a Jeffries challenge would complicate efforts to deliver his affordability platform after taking office in January.
- Ossé told attendees he has about $150,000 in pledged donations and outlined a platform including Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, and a U.S. arms embargo on Israel, while signaling he may not run without DSA support.
- The chapter is split, with figures like Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and co-chair Gustavo Gordillo favoring an endorsement as allies of Mamdani question Ossé’s alignment, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also urged against targeting Jeffries, the House Democratic leader.