Brooklyn is bracing for a political street fight — and this one isn’t between Democrats and Republicans. It’s inside the Democratic Party itself.
Left-wing Gen Z City Councilman Chi Osse is preparing to challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in next year’s congressional race, according to The New York Post. The 26-year-old TikTok-famous activist reportedly believes “the time is now” to take on one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington.
But his announcement is causing a political earthquake in his own backyard — and creating a major headache for New York’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
The Challenge Heard Across Brooklyn
“He said he wants to strike while the iron is hot,” one insider told The Post, describing Osse’s eagerness to mount a primary challenge against Jeffries.
That “iron,” of course, is the progressive momentum still burning after Mamdani’s historic mayoral win — the first time in New York City’s history that a self-described socialist has captured City Hall. But not everyone on the Left is thrilled to see Osse use Mamdani’s coattails for his own rebellion.
According to party insiders, Mamdani personally asked Osse not to run, warning that it could “fracture the alliance” he’s been painstakingly building between the Democratic establishment and the far-left base.
For months, Mamdani — 34, eloquent, and self-aware of his newfound power — has been quietly meeting with party moderates, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, to reassure them that his radical rhetoric can coexist with pragmatic governance.
Osse’s insurgency threatens to blow that up before Mamdani even takes office.
“Strike While the Iron Is Hot?”
“How about listen to the next mayor, who is the hottest thing in politics right now,” another frustrated insider told The Post, echoing what several Democratic operatives are reportedly saying behind closed doors.
For New York Democrats, the timing could not be worse. With national attention already fixed on Mamdani’s socialist experiment — and conservatives gleefully predicting a financial meltdown under his “free for all” promises — Osse’s challenge to Jeffries adds fuel to an already smoldering intraparty fire.
Jeffries, 54, is no small target. As House Minority Leader, he’s the highest-ranking Democrat in Congress and the heir apparent to Nancy Pelosi’s legacy. His Brooklyn district is safely blue, but it’s also politically symbolic: a bellwether of the Democratic Party’s generational divide.
To the establishment, Jeffries represents competence and continuity.
To the Left, he represents complacency — the “corporate Democrat” who talks about justice while fundraising with Wall Street donors.
Osse clearly believes it’s time to replace him.
Mamdani’s Fragile Truce
Mamdani’s own advisers describe the feud as “deeply personal.” The mayor-elect reportedly views Osse as an ally turned loose cannon — a social-media-driven radical whose campaign could shatter months of quiet bridge-building.
And it’s not just about Jeffries. It’s about Mamdani’s broader project: legitimizing socialism in the largest city in America without scaring away the moderate Democrats whose cooperation he needs to govern.
Osse’s rebellion makes that balancing act nearly impossible.
“Mamdani’s trying to convince Albany that socialism can work,” one senior Democratic strategist told Politico. “Then here comes Chi Osse, saying the quiet part out loud — that the Left doesn’t want to compromise. That’s a gift to every Republican talking point for the next year.”
The Social Media Generation Meets Machine Politics
Osse, who gained fame as a protest leader during the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations, has since built an online following by branding himself as the voice of Gen Z progressives. He’s charismatic, media-savvy, and unapologetically theatrical — traits that make him both a political force and a nightmare for party leadership.
His TikTok videos, often filmed from City Hall, combine pop-culture humor with leftist messaging about rent control, defunding the police, and “decolonizing” city institutions. That style resonates with younger voters who see traditional politicians as stale and disconnected.
But for older Democrats, it’s a reminder that social media fame isn’t the same as legislative experience.
As one Brooklyn Democratic insider put it:
“Chi’s got charisma, sure. But this isn’t City Hall anymore — it’s Congress. You don’t go from TikTok to taking on Hakeem Jeffries without consequences.”
A Snub That Spoke Volumes
The tension between Osse and Mamdani became impossible to ignore when Osse skipped the mayor-elect’s victory party last Tuesday night — a decision that did not go unnoticed.
Mamdani’s election celebration at the Brooklyn Paramount was supposed to be a coronation for the city’s ascendant socialist movement. But Osse’s absence was as symbolic as the party itself — glamorous, exclusive, and already controversial for all the wrong reasons.
While Mamdani preached affordability and equality, the drinks at his “for the people” party were priced like Wall Street martinis: $13 for a Pabst Blue Ribbon, $16 for a Montauk Ale, and $22 for a cocktail. Even the soft drinks were $12.
When photos of the menu hit social media, critics pounced.
“If you can’t get a free vodka from this guy,” comedian Jimmy Failla joked on X, “something tells me the free food and buses ain’t coming.”
The moment became political shorthand for what Mamdani’s opponents have long argued — that “socialist politics” in New York are often funded and performed by the same upper-middle-class elite they claim to oppose.
Socialism Meets the Real World
That contradiction now threatens to define the new mayor’s early days in office.
Mamdani campaigned on universal childcare, rent freezes, and free city buses — all while promising to tax the wealthy and corporations to pay for it. The math, even by generous estimates, doesn’t add up. Economists have pegged the annual cost of his proposals at over $10 billion — more than the city’s entire police budget.
The reality, insiders say, is that Mamdani will need to compromise to get anything done.
Osse, meanwhile, has no such constraints.
For him, taking on Jeffries isn’t about legislation — it’s about revolution.
The DSA Divide
Osse rejoined the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) over the summer after briefly leaving the group in 2020, citing disagreements over messaging. His return signaled a renewed commitment to the far-left movement — but it also reopened old wounds.
Mamdani, though a DSA member himself, has been trying to position his administration as more inclusive and pragmatic, downplaying the group’s most radical language. He’s even met with major business leaders to reassure them that his policies won’t “scare investment out of the city.”
Osse’s decision to re-embrace DSA activism — and now to take on Jeffries — undermines that effort. It signals to moderates that the far-left intends not to cooperate, but to dominate.
One Democratic operative summed it up bluntly:
“This is the AOC playbook all over again — and Mamdani knows it. But he’s trying to play both sides, and Chi’s making that impossible.”
The Establishment Fights Back
Jeffries’ team, for its part, isn’t taking the threat lightly.
“Leader Jeffries is focused on battling Donald Trump, ending the Republican shutdown of the federal government, and addressing the GOP healthcare crisis,” his spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement.
In other words: ignore the noise, stay above the fray.
But behind closed doors, senior Democrats are alarmed. The prospect of an internal primary against a TikTok-fueled socialist isn’t just a distraction — it’s a vulnerability that Republicans will exploit.
Jeffries’ allies remember what happened in 2018, when then-unknown Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez toppled longtime Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary nobody saw coming.
Now, with Gen Z activists flooding social media with slogans like “#ReplaceJeffries” and “#StrikeHot,” the parallels are impossible to miss.
Inside the Gen Z Rebellion
Osse’s movement is more than a campaign — it’s an aesthetic.
Slickly produced videos, moody background music, stylized typography — this is activism made for the algorithm. His supporters don’t talk in traditional policy terms; they talk about “vibes,” “energy,” and “breaking the system.”
That language connects powerfully with a generation that came of age amid pandemic chaos, climate anxiety, and student debt. They see politicians like Jeffries as part of a permanent ruling class that never delivers real change.
But it also alienates older Democrats who still believe in party unity and incremental progress.
“The new Left doesn’t want to reform the system,” one DNC staffer said. “They want to burn it down and rebuild it on TikTok.”
Mamdani’s Tightrope Walk
Caught in the middle is Zohran Mamdani — the 34-year-old socialist mayor-elect who now finds himself trying to govern a city while refereeing a political brawl between two wings of his own movement.
Privately, advisers say Mamdani sees Osse’s campaign as reckless and narcissistic — a “stunt” that could derail his legislative agenda before it begins.
Publicly, he’s said little. But allies have begun urging Osse to “respect the mayor’s timeline” and avoid internal fights that “divide the Left while the Right regains power.”
Yet for all his frustration, Mamdani knows he created this moment.
His campaign rhetoric — “No more waiting. The time for revolution is now.” — lit the same fire that Osse is now trying to wield.
The irony is rich: the revolutionary mayor now begging for order.
Meanwhile, the Optics Keep Getting Worse
For Mamdani, the controversies just keep stacking up.
First came the cash bar story — a viral embarrassment that reinforced accusations of hypocrisy.
Then came the news that one of his own allies was snubbing his victory celebration and plotting a coup against the party’s most powerful New Yorker.
What should have been a week of unity and optimism has instead turned into a lesson in political reality.
“Mamdani wanted to be the face of a movement,” one longtime Democratic donor said. “Now he’s learning that movements don’t take orders.”
Can Mamdani Keep His Coalition Together?
The question now dominating New York’s political scene is simple: can Mamdani actually govern?
Winning an election with 50.4% of the vote is one thing. Keeping together a coalition that includes both DSA radicals and centrist Democrats is another.
Osse’s rebellion suggests that the Left doesn’t want unity — it wants escalation. And Mamdani’s inability to control his own allies could convince moderates that the far-left project is already imploding.
Republicans, meanwhile, are watching with delight.
House GOP strategist Mike Johnson (no relation to the Speaker) quipped on social media:
“Democrats in New York can’t even manage their own party, and they want to manage your healthcare and your rent?”
The Specter of AOC
There’s also the lingering influence of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the original DSA insurgent who turned a primary challenge into a movement.
Like AOC in 2018, Osse is young, media-savvy, and betting on an anti-establishment message. And just as Crowley underestimated Ocasio-Cortez, some insiders worry Jeffries might underestimate Osse’s online reach.
But there’s a key difference: Ocasio-Cortez didn’t face internal opposition from fellow progressives — she was the underdog. Osse, by contrast, is defying the very figure the Left has just elevated to power: Mamdani.
That makes this a different kind of fight — not revolution versus establishment, but revolution versus revolution.
The Real Battle for the Democratic Party
What’s playing out in New York is a microcosm of the national Democratic dilemma.
The party’s progressive wing wants radical transformation: rent control, student debt cancellation, climate socialism.
The establishment wants to keep the system intact while managing its excesses.
For years, figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren tried to bridge that divide. Now, a younger generation — Osse, Mamdani, and their DSA peers — is pushing beyond it entirely.
But the contradiction remains: you can’t be both a revolutionary and an administrator.
Sooner or later, you have to choose.
Jeffries’ Calculated Calm
For now, Hakeem Jeffries is projecting calm.
Publicly, he’s brushing off Osse’s challenge, focusing on the federal shutdown, healthcare reform, and fighting Donald Trump’s agenda.
Privately, his team is preparing for a fight. They’re already mapping precincts, identifying turnout patterns, and quietly warning donors that the far-left intends to “do to Jeffries what they did to Crowley.”
If that’s true, this could become one of the most watched primary battles of 2026 — a clash between the face of institutional Democratic power and the embodiment of its anti-establishment revolt.
A Party Divided
The broader picture for Democrats in New York is bleak.
In the span of one week, their newly elected socialist mayor is under fire for hypocrisy, their House leader is facing a Gen Z rebellion, and their internal alliances are fraying before the next election cycle even begins.
Republicans don’t have to win New York to benefit — they just have to watch Democrats fight each other.
As one GOP strategist told The Washington Times:
“Democrats don’t need enemies when they have Chi Osse.”
The Iron Cools Fast
Back in Brooklyn, Osse’s slogan — “Strike while the iron is hot” — has become both rallying cry and warning.
The iron might be hot now, but political heat cuts both ways.
If his challenge fails, Osse risks being branded as the activist who divided the movement before it even began.
If it succeeds, it could send shockwaves through Washington — proving once again that the Democratic establishment has no control over its left flank.
Either way, the damage to party unity is already done.
The Final Irony
Zohran Mamdani’s ascent was supposed to mark a new era of solidarity for New York progressives — a moment when activists and pragmatists could finally coexist.
Instead, within a week of his win, he’s facing internal revolts, ideological infighting, and the national embarrassment of a $22 cocktail controversy.
It’s the perfect metaphor for the new Left: loud, idealistic, and perpetually at war with itself.
As one Brooklyn political observer put it dryly:
“Socialism promised free buses and unity. What we got was a cash bar and chaos.”
Adrian Hawthorne is a celebrated author and dedicated archivist who finds inspiration in the hidden stories of the past. Educated at Oxford, he now works at the National Archives, where preserving history fuels his evocative writing. Balancing archival precision with creative storytelling, Adrian founded the Hawthorne Institute of Literary Arts to mentor emerging writers and honor the timeless art of narrative.