Hakeem Jeffries Does Not Want to Talk About Florida's Democrat Civil War

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) faces a tough situation in Florida: a fierce civil war is emerging in the Sunshine State, as the new maps have set Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz on a collision course with Democrats from a predominantly black district. She is running to take the seat, upsetting local community leaders who believe a person of color should represent it. Thus far, he doesn’t want to weigh in at all (via Axios):

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday he has not yet decided whether to support Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-Fla.) reelection amid anger over her decision to run in a majority-minority district.

 

Why it matters: Jeffries is known for uniformly backing even his most polarizing members. This rare deviation stunned some of his colleagues.

"He's never done that," one senior House Democrat told Axios. "He supports incumbents."

Jeffries himself declared Tuesday in response to a different question: "I stand behind every single House Democratic incumbent."

Wasserman Schultz, a member of Jeffries' leadership team, has stoked the anger of Black Democrats by running in a plurality Black district. "People are pissed off," a second senior House Democrat told Axios.

Driving the news: "Haven't made a decision as it relates to that particular race," Jeffries said at a press conference when asked whether he is supporting Wasserman Schultz for reelection.

"Everybody has a right to run where they see fit, they've got to go make their case to the people that they hope to represent moving forward, and that's what I communicated directly to Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz," he added.

It’s basically a political race war, and it could get very ugly. Even Jeffries could take heat for endorsing or not endorsing.