By Jesus Mesa
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on a clear path to the speaker's gavel after Democrats' midterm elections sweep on Tuesday, even though voters rate him worse than the Republican he is about to replace.
The final Economist/YouGov poll before Election Day, conducted October 23-26, found that 26 percent of registered voters approved of the job that the New York Democrat is doing and 47 percent disapproved. Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, came in at 32 percent approval and 45 percent disapproval, leaving Jeffries 8 points behind him on net. YouGov surveyed 1,440 registered voters, with a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a New York Democrat, had the worst numbers of the four congressional leaders, 24 percent approval against 54 percent disapproval. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, had the lowest approval at 21 percent, but fewer voters disapproved of him at 46 percent.
Read More on Politics
Since Tuesday's elections, petitions demanding new Democratic leadership in both chambers of Congress have collected hundreds of thousands of signatures, and several incoming senators said they will vote against Schumer. Neither New Yorker has a declared challenger, though, and the numbers inside both caucuses favor them.
Newsweek reached out to the offices of Jeffries and Schumer for comment by email on Friday.
...
Jeffries Trailed Johnson in Final Preelection Poll
Democrats handed Republicans a midterm drubbing, flipping seven Senate seats and more than 40 House seats. But confidence in the people leading them has rarely been lower. The poll closed a week before Democrats flipped both chambers and does not reflect any lift the leaders might get from the results.
Congress itself sat at 18 percent approval and 59 percent disapproval. Asked what the next Congress should do differently, the most common answer, from 24 percent of respondents, was to check and oppose the Trump administration.
A Change.org petition titled "House Democrats: CHOOSE A NEW SPEAKER" had 762,343 verified signatures by Thursday night. Author and TikTok creator Nicole Whitted started it in September, and it was at roughly 20,000 signatures on Wednesday. The petition push was helped by actor Mark Ruffalo, who posted: "Sign this petition if you want a new speaker of the house." Per the petition, Whitted is a compensated change ambassador.
Related Story
Newsweek Webinar: How the Politics of AI Could Shape Midterms
The petition asks "every member of the incoming 120th Congress to vote against Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker in January 2027 and choose a different candidate."
Whitted told Newsweek on Thursday that her objection goes beyond any one policy fight.
"It's about real leadership that aligns with today's Democratic voter, real accountability, and whether the party is genuinely listening to the voters demanding change," she said.
She pointed to Jeffries' ties to corporate interests and pro-Israel lobbying groups and to an August meeting with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law.
Some members of the incoming House class have said much the same.
"I hope to have an alternative to Jeffries to vote for," Democrat William Lawrence, who flipped Michigan's 7th Congressional District, said in July.
Colorado Representative-elect Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist, has ruled out voting for any leadership-seeking Democrat who takes corporate PAC money.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, also a democratic socialist, stuck with Jeffries. "I continue to support Congressman Jeffries and his bid to become the leader," Mamdani said in August.
...
Schumer Faces Revolt From His Own Voters and Incoming Senators
Of the four leaders in the YouGov poll, Schumer was the only one viewed more negatively than positively by his own party. Forty-two percent of Democrats disapproved of him and 38 percent approved.
Two Change.org petitions calling on Senate Democrats to choose a new majority leader went up Wednesday and passed a combined 100,000 signatures by Thursday. The larger one, started by Laura Ciocia, says Schumer "folds when it matters." It also faults him for opposing former President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal and for taking campaign money from pro-Israel donors.
Indivisible, the progressive organizing group, put out a memo Thursday pushing senators to force a contested race.
"Who leads the party in this era must be an open question, not a coronation," the memo said.
Much of the anger at Schumer dates to last year's government shutdown, which ended after he backed a Republican bill to reopen federal agencies. Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom called it a "capitulation."
At least seven incoming Democratic senators have said or signaled that they won't commit to Schumer.
Illinois Senator-elect Juliana Stratton made it part of her primary pitch: "I will not support Chuck Schumer as leader in the Senate," she said at a January debate.
Kansas Senator-elect Adam Hamilton was more blunt in September: "I'm not supporting Schumer."
Troy Jackson, Maine's senator-elect, said he told Schumer directly that he would "support somebody else."
"I think it's time for new leadership," Minnesota Senator-elect Peggy Flanagan said on Wednesday.
South Carolina Senator-elect Annie Andrews on Thursday called for "generational change on both sides of the aisle," and Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed wants Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen in the job.
Schumer has waved it off.
"The issue is not me. I'll be reelected as majority leader," he told reporters on Wednesday. "But the issue is focusing on the American people and what they want."
...
Both Leaders Remain Heavy Favorites
Jeffries, who would be the first Black speaker in U.S. history, formally launched his bid Wednesday in a letter to colleagues.
"Against all odds, House Democrats were consistently successful in the minority," he wrote. "We must now deliver the dramatic change the American people are demanding in the majority."
No House Democrat has announced a run against him, and Whitted said she had not heard from anyone planning to.
The caucus is expected to hold leadership elections November 18 and 19, ahead of a January floor vote in which the speaker nominee needs 218 votes. With Democrats at 250 seats as of Friday and on track for their biggest House majority since 2008, a protest bloc on the floor would have little leverage. Arizona Representative Greg Stanton said the margin lets Jeffries "govern without worrying about being leveraged by anyone."
On the Senate side, Schumer needs a simple majority of a caucus that currently stands at 54, counting two independents, with Mississippi and Alaska still uncalled. Senators are expected to vote by secret ballot in early December.
No senator has stepped up to run against Schumer. Van Hollen, the name progressives float most, said before the election that he had "not thought about" running for leader and has since argued that Democrats shouldn't lock in behind Schumer without a commitment to a bold agenda.
Democrats flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats Tuesday, including in Iowa, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, and several of the winners were Schumer recruits. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker credited him Wednesday with "one of the most historic sweeps" for the party.
"We're gonna have a family discussion," Booker said. "But I think America should give...Chuck Schumer his due for what we were able to achieve."
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin predicted this week that both Jeffries and Schumer will keep their jobs.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Dave Siminoff.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines