Democratic Rep.-elect Don Leonard of Ohio says senior members of his own party warned him that opposing Hakeem Jeffries for House speaker would make his life miserable in Washington and cost him his seat in 2028. Leonard, who flipped Ohio's 15th Congressional District by unseating Republican incumbent Mike Carey in a district Donald Trump carried by about ten points in 2024, has laid out two conditions for backing Jeffries: a constitutional amendment to end Citizens United, and an end to U.S. support for the war in Iran and for Israel.
Leonard met with senior House Democrats in Washington, D.C. on Monday, and said the message he came away with was blunt. According to Newsweek, he was told that sticking to his conditions would “basically mean both making my life a living hell for the next two years here in Washington, as well as being sure to lose my election in two years.”
Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, pushed back when asked about the claim, saying, “I don't know what senior Democrats he's talking about,” and confirming he intends to vote for Jeffries for speaker, the same report noted. Leonard has not backed down. He says he and his team are “searching our hearts” to find a way to reach Jeffries directly and “help him be a better speaker,” and that he's trying to arrange a one-on-one meeting with Jeffries to air his concerns.
A Pressure Campaign Playing Out Beyond One District
Leonard's account lands amid a broader revolt brewing inside the House Democratic caucus. More than a dozen lawmakers and aides told Axios that Democratic members and members-elect have been flooded with calls and emails urging them not to elect Jeffries speaker. One incoming House Democrat told the outlet they'd fielded roughly 150 such calls since Election Day, while a senior House Democrat said their office alone logged more than 500 calls in just two days.
A Change.org petition pushing Democrats to pick someone other than Jeffries had crossed one million signatures as of Tuesday, Newsweek reported, while Axios had put the same petition's count at nearly 900,000 signatures as of the prior Friday. Common Dreams separately cited a tally of 1,004,752 verified signatories and reported that members of Congress had been “inundated” with calls urging them not to elect Jeffries. The discrepancies in signature counts likely reflect the petition's count climbing between each outlet's reporting.
Leonard told Axios he'll be “shopping for a new leader” if Jeffries won't commit to shifting his position on Israel. On social media, an account posting as @dublin4don described Leonard announcing days ago that he would withhold support for Jeffries until the leader commits to economic priorities and changes in U.S. policy toward Israel and Gaza.
Other Incoming Democrats Still Withholding Support
Leonard isn't alone in holding out. The Washington Examiner reports that several incoming lawmakers in the party's progressive bloc have faced constituent pressure to withhold their support for Jeffries, who remains the only Democrat to have formally announced a speaker bid following his reelection.
Not every Democrat is eager for a fight, though. Rep.-elect Dan Koh told POLITICO, “We can't have months and months of acrimony,” and Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana said, “The people want to see unity,” as Democrats weigh how to handle internal dissent after what POLITICO described as a strong House showing. Despite that broader push for unity, the outlet noted that progressive activists continue to call for an alternative to Jeffries.
For his part, Leonard says he plans to keep meeting with fellow members of Congress and members-elect to build support for his goals, framing the pressure he's felt as something that hits differently once you're living it rather than watching it play out on screen. The fight over who leads the chamber's majority is far from settled.
