Democrats point to New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a rising star in the party, as a potential future speaker. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Congress Dem chairman fight pits old guard vs. new generation of black leaders Upstart Hakeem Jeffries is challenging 72-year-old Barbara Lee for the influential chairmanship.

Two members of the Congressional Black Caucus are in direct competition for a Democratic leadership position, including a young upstart who is bypassing the unwritten rule to wait his turn.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-N.Y.) late entrance into the race for House Democratic Caucus chair pits him against Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a former CBC chairwoman who announced her candidacy in July.


The competition is a sign of the CBC’s growing power and the challenges it faces as it expands. But it’s also a symptom of the leadership bottleneck threatening to shake up the entire Democratic Caucus in January.

While relatively obscure, especially compared to the high-profile speaker role, the caucus chair is an important position. In addition to being a launchpad for the future, the job puts the chairperson in the room where decisions are made, giving that member a say in the strategy the Democrats will use as they figure out how to take on President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans in 2019.

Lee and Jeffries represent opposite sides of the country and different generations of the party. Lee, 72, has paid her dues, playing the waiting game before seeking a jump into leadership. But Jeffries, 48, a rising star in the Democratic Party, is already ready to soar. A number of Democrats point to him as a potential future speaker.

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That two African-American colleagues are going head to head may be unusual, members say, but it shouldn’t be unexpected within an increasingly diverse Democratic Caucus.

“There’s never a problem when two whites run against each other or two Hispanics run against each other or two Asians run against each other,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said. “So don’t ask me about that.”

According to interviews with more than a dozen Democrats, no clear front-runner has emerged.

“I don’t think anyone’s locked down the votes,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who predicted that the candidate who works the phones the best during Thanksgiving recess will prevail in the Nov. 28 vote.

The contest changed significantly the day after Election Day, when Jeffries jumped in and Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) dropped out following her husband’s indictment on criminal charges of misusing federal dollars for personal use. But many members said they’ve already pledged to back Lee, and they intend to stand by that commitment.

Lee was first elected in 1996 and is perhaps best known for being the lone vote against the Afghanistan War in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She chaired the CBC, co-chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus and originally sought the Democratic Caucus chair post in 2012.

At that time, Lee withdrew her challenge to Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), now the outgoing caucus chairman who was trounced by Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), when it became clear he was going to win. However, she ran for vice chair in 2016, losing to Sánchez by a razor-thin, two-vote margin.

Lee, who was born in El Paso, Texas, earned her bachelor’s degree from Mills College in the San Francisco Bay Area and her master’s from the University of California, Berkeley. She served six years in the California State Assembly and a year and a half in the state Senate before she won a special election for her seat in Congress.

Lee declared that the days when it would be a problem for two black lawmakers to run against each other are over. And she expressed confidence that she will join the leadership ranks.

“I’m gonna win,” said Lee, who added that her “numbers look good.”

Jeffries currently serves as a co-chair of the Democratic Policy & Communications Committee, which helps Democrats develop their messaging operation. Colleagues call him smart, eloquent and aggressive. Jeffries’ biggest weakness is his lack of experience, which he hopes to remedy by snaring the Democratic Caucus post.

Jeffries, a Brooklyn native, has a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from New York University. A former law clerk, Jeffries served six years in the New York State Assembly before he won a spot in Congress, where he has focused on criminal justice reform and economic inequality, two huge issues inside the party. Jeffries was the top Democrat behind a bipartisan prison reform bill that overwhelmingly passed the House this summer. The bill is part of a broader package of criminal justice changes backed by President Donald Trump.

The three-term lawmaker was a lead author of the Music Modernization Act, a bill governing royalty and copyright laws for songwriters that was signed into law in October.

Jeffries is framing the race as an opportunity to bring about the generational change younger members are clamoring for. He has endorsed Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for speaker and expects her to win the gavel. Her deputy, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), is running unopposed for majority leader. Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is likely to win his race for majority whip after his sole challenger, Diana DeGette of Colorado, withdrew.

But Jeffries notes that younger members have an opportunity to jump into leadership in open races for assistant Democratic leader, caucus chair and vice chair, and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair.

“At the end of the day, there’s gonna be some generational change moving forward,” Jeffries told reporters.

Regardless of who wins, it’ll benefit the CBC, whose members are also poised to serve as majority whip and the chairs of several committees: Oversight and Government Reform, Homeland Security, Financial Services, Education and the Workforce, and Science, Space, and Technology.

“It’s not like there are three people running and [Lee and Jeffries] are taking votes from one another,” Clyburn said. “One of them will win. So a CBC member will win. It’s good for the CBC.”

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.), who is undecided in the race, challenged the notion that Lee’s head start over Jeffries gives her the upper hand. But he agreed that questions about developing the next generation of leadership will come up in the contest for caucus chair.

“People are saying, ‘Hey, you know, you got the top three races that are likely to go to some of our more senior statesmen: Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn. Are we doing everything we need to do to make sure we’re developing that next generation?’” Brown said. “Hakeem clearly is in kind of that next generation.”

Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) told CNN she’s supporting Lee, noting: “We’ve never had a woman of color in that position.”

Indeed, Jeffries’ ambition is the only thing standing between Lee and history as House Democrats’ first black chairwoman.

“They’re both great candidates,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said. “If I could, I’d vote for both.”

Connolly, of course, can’t back both. But even members who have committed to Lee early say choosing between the two is tough. “I told Barbara I was for her,” one member told POLITICO. “But I won’t be sad if he wins.”