Chi Ossé, New York City Council member, speaks as Starbucks Workers United members picket outside a Starbucks store in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The party leader's reluctance to endorse Mamdani exposed a Democratic Party rift that has been brewing since Republicans won major gains in 2024, leaving Democrats without clear party leadership to respond to President Donald Trump's sweeping second-term agenda.
New York's 8th Congressional District covers part of Brooklyn. Ossé currently represents Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights neighborhoods.
He began his career in politics as an organizer during the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 and was elected to City Council in 2021 at 23 years old, becoming the youngest member of the Council and its first Gen Z member.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks to members of the media at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the Queens borough of New York on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jeffries is up for re-election next year as Democrats battle to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries, Mamdani and Ossé for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gen-z-firebrand-challenges-establishment-giant-nycs-chi-osse-launches-primary-bid-against-hakeem-jeffries