Jeffries and Schumer have plenty of critics but no challengers: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, Jonathan Allen explains why Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer don’t appear to be in much danger of losing their Democratic leadership bids.Plus, Henry J.
Gomez has an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how Amy Acton overcame Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial ad in the Ohio governor’s race.— Adam WollnerJeffries and Schumer have plenty of critics — but no challengersAnalysis by Jonathan AllenRep.-elect Bob Brooks, D-Pa., was one of a handful of so-called Bernie-Dog Democrats — endorsed by both democratic socialist Sen.
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the House’s moderate Blue Dog Coalition — on the ballot this November.I traveled to his district in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley in August as part of a reporting trip to eight swing districts across five states — a venture that revealed the disillusionment of MAGA voters and the anger of Democrats heading into the midterms before ballots were cast.At the polls, that anger was focused on voting Republicans out of Congress, and Brooks won by more than 12 points in a district that leaned marginally toward the GOP before.
But some Democrats are also furious at their own party leadership for not being further to the left or not fighting hard enough against President Donald Trump.So, when I ran into Brooks at the foot of the Capitol steps during freshman orientation this week, I asked what he planned to do with his vote for speaker of the House.“There’s nobody else to vote for right now: It’s Hakeem Jeffries,” Brooks said of the New York Democrat who serves as minority leader and is so far running unopposed for the job.“I’m Team Hakeem right now.”An observer of social media feeds on the left could be forgiven for thinking that Jeffries is in danger of not becoming the first Black leader o...