House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday pushed back on Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg’s efforts to unseat certain incumbent House Democrats in the 2026 primary elections.
Jeffries told Jonathan Karl on ABC News’ “This Week” that he will stand behind “every single Democratic incumbent” in the midterms. His comments come after Leaders We Deserve, a political organization which Hogg co-founded in 2023, announced plans Tuesday to spend $20 million in an effort to help elect younger Democratic leaders — including primary challengers to incumbent House Democrats — in safe blue districts.
“Well, I look forward to standing behind every single Democratic incumbent, from the most progressive, to the most centrist, and all points in between,” Jeffries told Karl. “They’re working hard in their communities, rising to the occasion.”
Hogg’s plans to primary some incumbents has notably sparked massive outrage among House Democrats and other members of the party.
“This past week we had, of course, Medicaid Matters Day of Action, a Save Social Security Day of Action, and we have to continue to do all of the things — rallies, town hall meetings in Democratic districts, town hall meetings in Republican districts, days of action, telephone town hall meetings, site visits, press conferences,” Jeffries said. “We are in a more is more environment and more is going to continue to be required of all of us.”
The House Democratic leader also emphasized during the interview that he plans to focus on trying to defeat GOP incumbents to help his party retake control of the lower chamber in 2026.
“Now, the House is the institution that is known to be — was built to be the closest to the American people,” Jeffries said. “That’s why we have elections every two years. Primaries are a fact of life. But here’s the thing. I’m going to really focus on trying to defeat Republican incumbents so we can take back control of the House of Representatives and begin the process of ending this national nightmare that’s being visited upon us by far-right extremism.”
Hogg is an outspoken gun control activist who co-founded advocacy group March for Our Lives after surviving the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. Hogg was elected as one of the DNC’s vice chairs in February, and is notably the youngest person ever to hold the position.
“Everyone in our party says they want to start winning again, and they do—but that simply will not be possible with our current set of leaders, too many of which are asleep at the wheel, out-of-touch, and ineffective,” Hogg wrote Tuesday in a post on X.
Notably, there have been a growing number of reports that the Democratic Party is struggling to decide on political messaging that resonates with voters in the aftermath of Republican victories during the 2024 election cycle. The party is also facing declining approval ratings, receiving just a 29% favorability rating, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released March 16.
Jeffries’ office and Leaders We Deserve did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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