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Saikat Chakrabarti calls for change in democratic leadership
Chakrabarti said he would not vote for Jeffries if elected to Congress, arguing that current leaders have “completely failed this party.”
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 28, Oct 2025
- 15:57 EDT
- 13
Saikat Chakrabarti / Image- X (@saikatc)
Progressive congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti called for a major overhaul of the Democratic Party’s leadership, saying House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries “should be primaried.”
Chakrabarti, who is challenging former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her seat in California, made the comments during an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan on Zeteo.
Also Read: Chakrabarti polls better than veteran democrat Pelosi
The former chief of staff to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said he would not vote for Jeffries if elected to Congress, arguing that current leaders have “completely failed this party.”
It’s not just me. Nearly 80 people running for Congress declined to support Jeffries for leader.
— Saikat Chakrabarti for Congress (@saikatc) October 27, 2025
We need new people to run across the country to completely rebuild this party to be one that can stop an authoritarian coup and build an economy that works for working people. https://t.co/wkolhTRXiU
“If elected, I’m going to be calling to primary all the Democrats who have completely failed this party,” he said. When asked directly if Jeffries should face a primary challenger, he added, “Yes, absolutely. I’m saying that to the camera. Hakeem Jeffries should be primaried.”
Following the interview, Chakrabarti wrote on X that nearly 80 congressional candidates had declined to endorse Jeffries for leader, calling for new voices to “completely rebuild this party to be one that can stop an authoritarian coup and build an economy that works for working people.”
Chakrabarti, who co-founded the progressive group Justice Democrats, is contesting California’s 11th Congressional District, represented by Pelosi since 1987.
His campaign emphasizes economic justice, climate action, and campaign finance reform — themes that echo the progressive movement he helped build alongside Ocasio-Cortez in 2018.
The Washington Post recently described Chakrabarti’s bid as part of a wave of younger Democrats pushing for leadership that reflects a more activist, working-class agenda.
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