House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) won reelection Tuesday night, easily beating Republican challenger John Delaney and bringing him one step closer to a possible speakership, should Democrats retake the House majority.
The Associated Press called the race for Jeffries at 9:08 p.m. with 40% of the vote counted. Jeffries received 74.9% to Delaney’s 25.1% as of 3:09 a.m., with polls closing at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
If Democrats take the House majority, Jeffries is poised to be the chamber’s first black speaker.
Delaney advanced to the general election after the Republicans canceled the primary earlier this year. The Cook Political Report rated the seat “solid Democrat.”
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Jeffries’s path to the speakership remains muddled, as the battle for the House will likely be decided over the next several days. A majority of the 22 toss-up races, anticipated to decide who takes the majority, remain too close to call. So far, two of the 22 have been called, with Democrats flipping Rep. Marc Molinaro’s (R-NY) seat and Republicans holding on to Rep. Zach Nunn’s (R-IA) seat.
If Democrats take the House, Jeffries will have to work with a projected GOP majority in the Senate and a Republican White House with an all-but-assured victory from former President Donald Trump.
