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Ongoing story / Hakeem Jeffries

The race to lead the House after the 2026 midterms

Overview · reviewed November 14, 2026

After Democrats won control of the House in the November 2026 midterms, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries moved to become speaker, while Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not run to lead House Republicans in the minority.[1][2] Jim Jordan beat Steve Scalise to lead House Republicans in the next Congress,[3][4] and Jeffries faced a petition campaign from some on the left urging Democrats not to elect him.[5][6]

Read the timeline

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Jim Jordan beat Steve Scalise to lead House Republicans in the next Congress,[3][4] and Jeffries faced a petition campaign from some on the left urging Democrats not to elect him.[5][6]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 14%, 66 of 471 tracked outlets (18 left, 27 center, 21 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): 16%, 74 of 474 tracked outlets (18 left, 28 center, 28 right), so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 5 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (2 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 9, 2026 (so far)18282874 of 47416%
Nov 2, 202618272166 of 47114%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 13, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Newsweek

    Hakeem Jeffries Heckled at Democratic Event as He Vies For Speaker Role

Background

Jeffries formally asked House Democrats to make him speaker, pledging "accountability" for the Trump administration, though some progressives said he was not going far enough.[1] He and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer were poised to become the first congressional leaders from the same state since the 1950s.[7] A Change.org petition saying the speaker "should represent the Democratic voters, not just the Democratic establishment" drew support from the actor Mark Ruffalo[5][8] and passed 920,000 signatures, and Democratic lawmakers told Axios they were being flooded with calls and emails urging them not to elect Jeffries.[6]

Read the full background (2 more paragraphs)

On the Republican side, Johnson, who was expected to stay on as a rank-and-file member from Louisiana, told staff the day after the election that he would not run for minority leader.[2] Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, made his third run for the party's top House post against Majority Leader Steve Scalise,[3] and Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger challenged Majority Whip Tom Emmer for the whip job.[9] Johnson's own rise to the speakership is followed in the arc on the 2023 speaker fights.

On November 10, House Republicans elected Jordan as their minority leader for the next Congress, choosing him over Scalise after their losses at the polls.[4] On the Democratic side, Jeffries and Schumer, poised to lead their parties in the House and Senate, faced continued pressure from progressive groups.[10] On November 13, protesters heckled Jeffries at a Democratic conference in Denver, pressing him to back Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, though he had yet to draw a public challenger for speaker.[11]

Supporting stories (11)
  1. Who is Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat poised to become House speaker?
  2. Speaker Johnson won't seek reelection as House Republican leader after party's midterm losses
  3. Jim Jordan is making his third run for House Republican leader — here's what's different this time
  4. House Republicans elect Jim Jordan as their minority leader for the next Congress
  5. Petition To Replace Hakeem Jeffries Hits 500k As Mark Ruffalo Wades In
  6. House Democrats "inundated" with calls telling them not to elect Jeffries speaker
  7. Democrats Face Leadership Votes as Jeffries, Clark and Schumer Seek Top Congressional Posts
  8. Hollywood A-lister joins effort to block Jeffries as House speaker: ‘Not the right choice’
  9. August Pfluger to challenge Emmer for GOP whip post: Report
  10. Jeffries and Schumer eye congressional leadership roles
  11. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries gets rude awakening at Democratic convention as heckler erupts: ‘Traitor!’

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 11 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries gets rude awakening at Democratic convention as heckler erupts: ‘Traitor!’Headline from New York Post · 15 outlets
  2. Jeffries and Schumer eye congressional leadership rolesHeadline from NEWS10 ABC · 3 outlets
  3. House Republicans elect Jim Jordan as their minority leader for the next CongressHeadline from ABC News · 73 outlets
  4. House Democrats "inundated" with calls telling them not to elect Jeffries speakerHeadline from Axios · 3 outlets
  5. Hollywood A-lister joins effort to block Jeffries as House speaker: ‘Not the right choice’Headline from Cleveland Plain Dealer · 3 outlets
  6. Petition To Replace Hakeem Jeffries Hits 500k As Mark Ruffalo Wades InHeadline from Newsweek · 2 outlets
  7. Democrats Face Leadership Votes as Jeffries, Clark and Schumer Seek Top Congressional PostsHeadline from Latin Times · 3 outlets
  8. Jim Jordan is making his third run for House Republican leader — here's what's different this timeHeadline from Cleveland Plain Dealer · 13 outlets
  9. Speaker Johnson won't seek reelection as House Republican leader after party's midterm lossesHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 48 outlets
  10. August Pfluger to challenge Emmer for GOP whip post: ReportHeadline from Just the News · 2 outlets
  11. Who is Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat poised to become House speaker?Headline from Al Jazeera · 27 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →