{"id":391412,"date":"2026-11-02T23:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/391412\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T23:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T23:26:08","slug":"blue-wave-could-turn-dc-into-nyc-power-playground-for-schumer-jeffries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/391412\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue wave could turn DC into NYC power playground for Schumer, Jeffries"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 A potential midterm blue wave<\/a> could transform Washington, D.C. into an unlikely NYC outer-borough power playground<\/a> with Brooklyn Democrats Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries likely sweeping to top leadership positions in Congress while Queens-bred President Trump occupies the White House.<\/p>\n

If Democrats win both chambers of Congress as some polls predict<\/a>, it would likely put Schumer, who lives in Park Slope, and Jeffries, who’s from Crown Heights, on opposite sides of the political table from Trump, who grew up in Queens and famously has a penthouse in midtown Manhattan.<\/p>\n

It would be the first time in American history that the nation’s three preeminent political leaders come from the same city<\/a>, even though their paths to the pinnacles of power could not be more divergent.<\/p>\n

That potential earthquake would come as Mayor Mamdani is also grabbing national headlines for his meteoric rise<\/a> and progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is often mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic<\/a> presidential candidate.<\/p>\n

So much for the Big Apple-haters who scoff at the notion that NYC is the center of the universe.<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, Jeffries, Schumer and the Democrats still have a steep hill to climb on Election Day Tuesday before they can celebrate anything.<\/p>\n

Schumer’s path to retaking power as Senate Majority Leader, a post he held during the Biden administration, has been seen as a long shot,<\/a> mostly because of the daunting electoral map.<\/p>\n

Democrats need to hold all their own seats, including a potentially tough race in battleground Michigan<\/a>, and flip at least four Republican-held seats.<\/p>\n

North Carolina, a purple state, and Maine, where Democrats aim to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, have long looked doable for Democrats. But they also need to win in some combination of red states<\/a> like Ohio, Texas, Kansas, Iowa and Alaska.<\/p>\n

Remarkably, pollsters say Democrats have a puncher’s shot at pulling it off, thanks in no small part to Schumer’s aggressive campaign to recruit solid candidates<\/a>. Polling averages put Democratic insurgents narrowly ahead or virtually tied with GOP rivals in all the states.<\/p>\n

Republicans hold only narrow leads in even deeper-red states<\/a> like South Carolina, Mississippi and even Louisiana. Most experts say early voting numbers favor Democrats in most states, with Latino turnout surging.<\/p>\n

Unlike the close race for the Senate, polls say Democrats are heavily favored to win the House.<\/a> Republicans hold a narrow five-seat edge now, meaning Jeffries’ Democratic allies need to flip a mere handful of seats to win control<\/p>\n

The only districts in the immediate NYC area that are considered in danger of changing hands<\/a> are those held by Rep. Mike Lawler and Rep. Tom Kean.<\/p>\n

Non-partisan forecasters predict Democrats will end up winning at least 225 and up to 240 seats, which would give them a comfortable margin over the GOP.<\/p>\n

Jeffries, a political brawler who likes to quote fellow Brooklynites Mike Tyson and Jay-Z<\/a>, would still have to negotiate some choppy waters within his caucus, notably potential opposition from some decidedly less moderate representatives, including the DSA members backed by Mamdani: Claire Valez and Darializa Avila Chevalier.<\/p>\n

But an overwhelming mandate from midterm voters would be nearly sure to hand the speaker’s gavel<\/a> to Jeffries, who would make history as the first Black House Speaker of the House.<\/p>\n

It wouldn’t be anything new for Trump to face off in the Oval Office<\/a> with Schumer and Jeffries, whose homes are just a long walk away from one another in Brooklyn, split by the 2\/3 train on Flatbush Ave. in between.<\/p>\n

He once mocked the Democratic pair by posting an AI-generated image of them dressed as Mexican mariachi musicians<\/a> to attack their stance on his crackdown on undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n

Trump also regularly disses Jeffries as “low IQ”<\/a> and derides Schumer as a “Palestinian,” even though he’s a strong supporter of Israel and the most senior Jewish elected official in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

But the balance of power would be significantly altered if Democrats sweep to victory in the midterms, a verdict from voters that would effectively consign Trump to lame-duck status for the last two years of his second term.<\/p>\n

Trump himself as also hinted that he might be able to do business<\/a> with his fellow New Yorkers from the other side of the aisle.<\/p>\n

“I’d probably get along with him very well,” Trump said of Jeffries in August.<\/p>\n

“I think he’s a nice guy,” added Trump, brushing aside the nasty barbs they’ve tossed at one another.<\/p>\n

After all, he’s forged an unlikely bromance with Mamdani<\/a> and has pulled his punches when it comes to attacking AOC. That suggests the kid from Queens might have a soft spot for his fellow Knicks fans, regardless of their home borough or political stripe.<\/p>\n

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