LEADER JEFFRIES TO ROLAND MARTIN: “WE’RE FOCUSED ON THE ISSUES THAT MATTER—DRIVING DOWN THE HIGH COST OF LIVING”
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on Roland Martin Unfiltered where he laid out how Democrats remain laser-focused on making life better for the American people and driving down the high cost of living, while Republicans continue their all-out assault on the health, safety and economic well-being of the American people.
ROLAND MARTIN: Huge wins last night for Democrats. Virginia, New Jersey, local races, school board races, all across the country. And it bodes well, heading into 2026. Joining us right now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Glad to have you on the show. This was interesting over last night. And we already seen it. You got the right and Fox News, they're all going. The face of the Democratic Party is Zohran Mamdani. Well, last I checked you had Mary Sheffield in Detroit win last night. You had, as Cameron said earlier, a sister in Syracuse, a sister in Albany, New York. You had a Democrat in Cincinnati, a Democrat in Pittsburgh, Andre Dickens in Atlanta, an incumbent won in Cleveland. So this idea that you only had one person win Mayor last night who's a Democrat is kind of stupid.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Absolutely. Democrats won across the country and up and down the ballot, and decisively. Now, the thing that connected these Democratic victories are, one, an embrace by the American people of the fact that we're focused on the issues that matter—driving down the high cost of living. Life has become more expensive under Donald Trump and Republican policies, not less expensive, despite their promise to lower costs on day one. We're focused on driving down the high cost of living. That was the case in New York City. That was the case in New Jersey. That was case in Virginia and across the country with the mayors that you mentioned who successfully won all across America. And, of course, we're gonna stay on the case as it relates to protecting the healthcare of the American people and decisively addressing the Republican healthcare crisis. It was also a rejection of Republican extremism, their assault on all the things, including the economy, on voting rights, on nutritional assistance, on veterans, on farmers, on the American way of life, on law-abiding immigrant communities and, of course, on democracy itself. So, it was a big night for the American people, and of course, it was a big night for the Democratic Party.
ROLAND MARTIN: You know, not just that. And when we talk about races and again, we spent a lot of time—everybody obviously was focused on these statewide races—Sherrill winning the Governor's race in New Jersey, Spanberger in Virginia and, of course, Jay Jones, Attorney General in Virginia, you have the Lieutenant Governor as well. But the thing that also jumps out to me—This is a headline in the Charlotte Observer. Charlotte's blue wave tells a national story on Donald Trump. And it details what happened last night. All across North Carolina, Democrats also won local races. You got the three Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania. And so, the mistake that I think people make is that they say, well, New Jersey, very blue, Virginia, somewhat blue. But you have to also look at local. When you start seeing big wins in school board races, DA races, City Council races, seats flipping, you saw, look, two wins in Mississippi where they broke the Republican supermajority there as well. That also speaks to the mood of the people on the ground and everybody keeps focusing on D.C., as opposed to what's happening locally.
LEADER JEFFRIES: There's no doubt about it. And what we saw was a high degree of Democratic energy, Independent voters swinging in our direction decisively. And, of course, communities that Republicans thought they had a chokehold on in terms of the support of the Latino community, broke back towards Democrats. Working-class Americans breaking back toward Democrats. Young people, young white males breaking toward Democrats. And this is happening all across America. In Onondaga County, which is in Central New York, the control of the state legislature was flipped for the first time in 40 years. In Georgia, we saw Democrats win statewide office for the first time in 20 years. In Pennsylvania, a state that Donald Trump just won, the Democratic candidates who were on the ballot for the state Supreme Court, three of them won decisively. You mentioned, Roland, what happened in Mississippi in terms of breaking the Republican supermajority. This is a story that has occurred all across the country. And the California ballot initiative was incredibly significant in that turnout was higher in many parts of the state for Prop 50 to stop Trump from stealing the election than it had been last November in a presidential election. That is unheard of. That's Democratic energy. That's the American people recognizing we're in the midst of a national nightmare. And the only way to turn things around is to throw Republican extremists out of office.
ROLAND MARTIN: There have been a couple of reports that have come out in last week or so saying that Democrats should be focusing on centrist ideas and leaving identity politics and all kinds of stuff along those lines. And this is what we said last night. Zohran Mamdani ran an unbelievable campaign in New York where he was focused on affordability and the needs of the people. If you take a Spanberger or a Sherrill, they run a centrist race. If you take someone who is in another part of the country, you run a different race. I think it's dumb when these—and I'm just gonna say it—when these largely white Democratic strategists sit around and say, this is how Democrats have to run. No, you run based upon the makeup of your congressional district, your state, or your state district or your State Senate. I think it's dumb to think that there's only one way to do it. There are gonna be some places that are more progressive than others. Some places more centrist than others. And so, to me you find the candidate who runs according to their district and not some cookie-cutter map.
LEADER JEFFRIES: I think that's exactly right, Roland. And it's intellectually lazy when some of these so-called consultants think that there's a one-size-fits-all approach in a country that is the most diverse in the history of the world across the 50 states and the multiple jurisdictions. And so, for us, however, I think what's gonna be critical as we are recruiting candidates to flip seats and take back the House next year, is that those candidates and their life experiences authentically match the districts that they hope to represent. Because after all, the House of Representatives was designed by the Framers to be the institution closest to the American people, to reflect the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, the fears, the concerns, the anxieties and the passions of the American people. And there are 435 congressional districts and everyone is going to be different. That doesn't mean that we can't unite under a frame of dealing with the issues that matter to the American people and for us, of course, that's making life more affordable.
ROLAND MARTIN: We saw a lot, we saw significant Black turnout last night in Virginia, in New Jersey as well. What I also look at last night, and matter of fact, a lot of people were concerned about Mamdani in New York—based upon the polling data, the highest percentage of votes he got last night were African Americans. And again, I think last night, what last night says, again, I'm gonna say it again to those white Democratic strategists, they better understand, You better put time, money, and resources into your base voters. Black women, Black men, young people, reaching those folks, because if you turn out your base voters, then you have a better shot as opposed to trying to appeal to folks who are not your base. Go out to New York City, look at those numbers. Those low-propensity voters, those young voters who sat out. That means a message and a candidate appealing to them. That's the strategy to victory. Your thoughts.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah. For us to win elections, particularly as it relates to taking back the House of Representatives, we have to do two things, keep the base energized and move swing voters in our direction. But the foundation for any electoral success, to your point, Roland, is to make sure we have an energized base. And at the heart of that energized base are African American women who once again delivered for Democratic candidates all across the country, up and down the ballot.
ROLAND MARTIN: Last question for you. I played a clip earlier. Charlamagne tha God made this comment saying that Democrats should back off what's happening with healthcare in the House and just go ahead and end this government shutdown. I called it pretty much stupid and idiotic because I said you're fighting for millions of people. This is a life and death matter. When it comes to this shutdown, did last night put more wind in your sails to keep fighting?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, we're gonna continue to stay in this fight until we win this fight. And we've made clear, look, we'll sit down with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, anytime, anyplace, to reopen the government, to enact a spending agreement that makes life better for the American people, while decisively addressing the Republican healthcare crisis that's crushing people all across America. We've got to ensure that we extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Otherwise, tens of millions of people are going to experience dramatically increased health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles. And it's unfortunate that some are parroting MAGA extremist, Donald Trump-like talking points.
ROLAND MARTIN: 20 seconds left. Have you called Speaker of the House, Don Scott of Virginia to say, bruh, even though you're a Kappa, he's an Alpha, hell of a job picking up 13 seats?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Don Scott is a great legislative leader, one of the best in the country. He and I are in close touch. I, of course, congratulated him. Your frat brother, we're all united on this side, Alphas, Kappas, Omegas.
ROLAND MARTIN: He pledged the same chapter. Same chapter at Texas A&M. That's my Pi-O brother.
LEADER JEFFRIES: He's a good man. And Texas A&M is doing their thing right now in football too, Roland.
ROLAND MARTIN: Yes, sir. Well, we appreciate it. He's actually up next. And so, we appreciate you joining us.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Appreciate you.
ROLAND MARTIN: All right. Thanks a lot.
Full interview can be watched here.