"Not a serious question": Jeffries dismisses report of potential primary challenge

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Friday shrugged off Axios' reporting that New York City Council member Chi Ossé is considering a primary challenge against him.What they're saying: "If you ask me a serious question, I'll give you a serious answer," Jeffries told Axios when asked about Ossé during a brief interview at the U.S. Capitol."And you know that's not a serious question based on everything coming out of Brooklyn," he added, referring to the New York City borough he represents."You know that's not a serious question."Ossé did not respond to a request for comment on Jeffries' remarks.State of play: Ossé, a close ally of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, has privately discussed a run against Jeffries, Axios' Holly Otterbein and Alex Thompson reported earlier this month.Ossé said after the story's publication that "it would take a very dire situation in order for me to even consider spending the rest of my 20s in dc," adding later, "Just to be clear, I'm not running for Congress."An internal poll reported by City & State NY found Jeffries leading Ossé in a hypothetical matchup, 72% to 21%, with half of voters saying they had never heard of Ossé.Zoom out: Jeffries' comments to Axios came just before he endorsed Mamdani on Friday.Progressive lawmakers and candidates have told Axios that Jeffries' months-long delay in backing Mamdani has created a serious rift between the Democratic leader and his left flank.Jeffries dismissed the notion that his delay in supporting Mamdani has divided the party, saying at a Friday press conference he has "traveled throughout the country, and the Democratic Party is as unified as I've seen us throughout the entire year."

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